The Curse That Comes With Strength
by Rinail
Summary: I would be fine with living with this curse, if only it didn't affect others around me. Especially him. Him, the boy I've known since forever, the boy with the crimson eyes, if it only didn't affect him. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1: Heaven

**Chapter 1: Heaven**

It was a bright sunny day. A six year-old girl and boy sat together in the grass, the boy reading, the girl resting under the cool shade of the trees.

An hour beforehand, they were out playing together at the boy's house, when the girl asked both their parents, who were eating breakfast, if they could wander around the forest until evening. The pair of parents eventually agreed, upon seeing the girl's happiness and hearing her reassurances that she knew her way around. The boy and the girl walked and walked, until the girl finally found the spot she was looking for, the place she had stumbled on last summer.

A beautiful, breathtaking clearing where the trees parted, where a shimmering blue lake sat in the middle of the bright green grasses. They played, playing to nearly the last of their strength, when the girl decided she was going to take a break. The boy followed, retrieving his book.

"Hey, Natsume..."

"What, annoying girl?"

"I heard from Jii-chan that when you die, you go to heaven," said the young girl, trying to start a conversation.

"So what?" the crimson eyed boy snapped up from his book.

"Jii-chan also said that when you die, only people who are dead go to heaven and are happy there," the pigtailed girl stated.

"So what?" the boy repeated, quickly getting bored of the conversation.

"Well, if only people who are dead go to heaven, wouldn't that mean the people would be sad instead of happy?" the girl inquired.

The boy sighed, obviously disinterested. "What makes you think that, stupid girl?"

The girl flushed angrily. "I'm not stupid! And I thought that because, well, wouldn't that mean the people who are dead left the people who aren't dead, like people they loved, behind? So they wouldn't be happy, right?"

The boy looked up, thinking. Then he hid his piercing eyes behind his raven colored locks. Then he smirked. "I wouldn't know, moronic girl, as I'm not dead yet,"

The girl quickly stood up and walked over to the boy abruptly. Surprised, he looked up, but his surprise remained unknown to the girl as it was hidden behind his cool facade. The girl pinched his cheeks, forcing him to look at her. Soft hazel eyes met blazing ruby eyes. The boy's eyes dropped from hers.

"Don't ever talk like that, and don't ever joke around like that! You shouldn't joke about those kind of things! It's absolutely forbidden, do you understand me?" the girl demanded.

Suddenly, the girl collapsed on her knees, crying.

The boy looked over at her, worried, but seemed unflustered behind his calm mask. He patted her auburn hair softly. "Stupid girl, why are you crying? Everybody's going to die someday. Just drop the subject."

The girl nodded, tears still pouring out of her already-red rimmed eyes.

They stayed, until the sun twisted the sky into a collage of dimmed colors.

They stayed, until the sky turned into a deep, alluring, azure blue with tiny pinpoints of lights dotting the sky.

The girl's name was Sakura Mikan. The boy's name was Hyuuga Natsume.

-End of Chapter 1-

* * *

-Ending note: Hi! This was my very first fan fic, or rather my attempt at one.. But I tried my best. If you liked it, review. If you didn't, review and give me some constructive criticism! I hope you liked it, and I'll be working hard on the next chapter. Until then!


	2. Chapter 2: A Dream

**Chapter 2: A Dream**

I see and hear everything so clearly.

Natsume and I playing. Me leading Natsume through the woods to the clearing. Us playing more there until we're finally exhausted of what little strength we have. Us taking a break. Me talking about heaven. Natsume talking about death, and how it somehow triggers me, demanding he take back what he said and how it's abosolutely forbidden to say things like that. Me crying. Natsume comforting me, him talking about how stupid I am. Us staying there until sunset, until the evening when the bright stars are scattered across the sky. Natsume and I...

"Mikan! Wake up, Mikan!"

A pause stretches out.

"Mikan, if you don't get up, you'll never get to see a Howalon sale ever again..."

That gets me up.

I yell, "Really? There's really a Howalon sale right now?"

Howalon is my favorite food, or snack, depending on your perspective. It's so good, melting through your mouth like cotton candy, all fluffy and sweet... Even the name sounds fluffy.

"..."

"Mom?"

"There is no Howalon sale right now, but I do have Hotaru-chan's Baka Gun right now. Your choice, Mikan," my mom says.

The Baka Gun. Even the name sends chills through my spine. While it's not overly dangerous, it's not exactly safe, either. It shoots at anyone who is considered to be stupid, hence the name the Baka Gun.

I gulp. In a split second, I make my decision. Now a blur of motion, i brush my teeth, wash my face, yank the brush through my auburn colored hair, fluidly tie it up into two pigtails, dress in somewhat decent clothes, and run through my room, through the plain colored hallways, and skid to a stop in the dining room. I crane my neck to see the clock, and... 2 minutes flat! I feel triumphant at beating my personal best.

I sit down at the table, depleted of any energy I mustered in the morning. A plate of eggs and a bowl of rice is set down in front of me. I grab my chopsticks, say, "Itadakimasu!" and scarf down the food.

"This evening, we're going to Natsume's house for dinner, and until then you can go wherever you want, as long as it's a place I know," my mom, Yuka, says.

I nod.

My mom is a really pretty person. She has long, auburn hair like mine, nice hazel eyes, and is just the right height; not too short, not too tall. On top of that, she's friendly, intelligent, and is really selfless.

Me, on the other hand, I have the same hair and eyes, though not as beautiful, and have a shorter-than-average height. If I was flattering myself, I would say I have one or two out of those three traits.

"Morning," my dad says, yawning.

"Morning," I reply chirpily.

My dad, Izumi, is tall, with straight hair, bangs often covering his blue eyes, and like me, is really cheery and bright. Meaning, happy, not as in genius.

I clap my hands, decided on where to go for the day. "Mom, I'll be at Hotaru's house, okay?"

"Okay, but make sure you come back at 7. We need to be at the Hyuugas by then, got it?" my mom asks.

I shake my head in confirmation. Then I spin on my heels, and a thought comes to me. "Where's the Baka Gun? I should give it back to her, since I'm going there anyway."

My dad grins widely, obviously seeing a fact that I'm missing.

"There's no Baka Gun here right now. It was just made up," my mom says with a shake of her head.

My jaw drops. I've been tricked?!

I spin on my heels and hear my dad chuckling. In angry steps, I bound over to the inventor and my neighbor, Imai Hotaru's house.

See, Hotaru's my best friend. She has been since I was five. Even back then, she made inventions. She has amethyst eyes, short cropped black hair, around my height, and has only about 3 expressions, max.

I ring the doorbell, and her older brother, Subaru, answers.

He's like Hotaru, as in expressions, intelligence, looks, but not height, because he's a lot taller than Hotaru is.

I come in, knowing I'm always allowed in, and the day passes pretty quickly, and later on, so does the dinner at the Hyuugas.

I play with Aoi, Natsume's nine year-old sister, who looks like him, but is nothing like him. She's cheerful, cute, perky, and always smiles. She But Natsume, he's arrogant, mean, short-tempered, and never smiles.

After I'm done playing with Aoi, I talk to Natsume for a few minutes, although it's obvious he couldn't care less, so I walk through the woods, feeling sad yet happy that it's the last day of summer vacation.

Alice Academy, or Gakuen Alice, is a strict school, but more or less allows us freedom. It has a Star Ranking, where every student is ranked on a Star system that is based on the individual's Alice's power, grades, and good behavior, among other things. Students can receive one of five ranks: No Star, Single, Double, Triple, and Special. Starting from the beginning of the term, I had no stars, due to poor control over my Stealing and Insertion Alice, but was soon upgraded to Special Star, the result of sleepless nights practicing to control my Alice.

Each student in Gakuen Alice has a special ability, or power, called an "Alice". An Alice has one of four possible forms, or shapes. The form cannot be controlled by the individual, and it specifies how much the Alice can be used, and how often: Childhood, the Alice that appears in the child normally at the beginning, but disappears as the individual ages into adulthood. Once the person's Alice has completely disappeared, sadly, the individual is dismissed from the academy; Diffuse, the Alice can be used at any time but in relatively low levels of power; Intermittent, which I have and Aoi once had, the Alice can only be used for a short period, at any time, but at a high level of power. The Alice's lifespan is also shortened until the user loses his/her Alice completely; and lastly, Limited, the one Natsume has, the Alice can be used at any time and as long as desired, but each use shortens the individual's lifespan. If the Alice is overused, the person may die.

Ever since I met Natsume, which was when we were both six, I always feared when he would die, which I completely didn't understand until I was 10, when I saw Natsume use his Fire Alice, the same Alice Aoi had, too much, and started coughing out blood, which led me to understand he had the Limited shape, and knowing that fact made me scared even more.

When we were eight, Aoi used up all her Alice, and burned up her entire town. But Natsume took all the blame for it, and got sent to Gakuen Alice, soon followed by Ruka with his Animal Pheromone Alice, Hotaru with her Invention, Anna with her Cooking, Nonoko with her Chemistry, Koko with his Mind Reading, and Sumire with her Cat-Dog Predisposition. Of course, although a lonely year after they all left, I was taken too, although found "accidentally" by the high school principal, or my uncle Yukihara Kazumi.

At one point, late in the night, I snap myself out of my thoughts and reach the clearing. It's weird though, it wasn't like I knew where I was going, but it was more like somebody led me here.

On that, I couldn't have been more right.

A hooded black figure steps in front of me. I have a foreboding feeling and it tells me this figure is dangerous, that I should get away, run, crawl, anything, to just get out of here. But my legs can't move. Won't move.

My parents come crashing through and into the clearing. I want to tell them to run, go away, but they seem as paralyzed as I am.

The hooded figure finally speaks. "My name is Luna."

Those four words send a shiver through me. It's not exactly the words that scare me; but rather the tone. So filled with anger, resentment, and maybe I was just imagining it, but jealousy?

"W-wh-what are you?" I finally ask.

The figure takes off the hood to reveal a young girl, probably the same age as I am, eleven or so. She has short strawberry blond hair, with cold blue eyes. Her eyes... They are cold. Colder than anything I have ever seen in my whole life, and I struggle to keep a shudder within me.

"I am a witch, of sorts. I can steal you soul, or curse you. One of those two, I am here to do. To those around you, and yourself, Sakura Mikan."

-End of Chapter 2-

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-A/n: Guys, if you like it or don't like , review so you can tell me! Ugh, I need some comments here! Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and it's going to be dramatic in the next chapter. I mean, really bad. Curses, death, and everything else in between is in there. So, yeah. Review! Until the next chapter! Oh yeah, by the way, this chapter was told in Mikan's POV, and last one was just in 3rd person. I might switch POVs now and then, so watch out for that. Right now, I'm working hard on my next chapter. Might have it up today. 2 chapters in a day? Might be possible. So bye!


	3. Chapter 3: The Curse

_*Recap*_

The figure takes off the hood to reveal a young girl, probably the same age as I am, eleven or so. She has short strawberry blond hair, with cold blue eyes. Her eyes... They are cold. Colder than anything I have ever seen in my whole life, and I struggle to keep a shudder within me.

"I am a witch, of sorts. I can steal your soul, or curse you. One of those two, I am here to do. To those around you, and yourself, Sakura Mikan."

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Curse**

"Why? Why me? I don't think I've done anything wrong..." I burst out.

Luna glares at me. "Oh, but you have. You're always running around these woods, smiling, laughing, when these are my woods and my only sense of privacy."

"I'm sincerely sorry for intruding on your woods, but I really don't get why it's bad enough to curse me or steal my soul," I state.

"Enough talk! Just die!" Luna screams at me.

Time seems to slow. Luna raises a clenched fist at me, releases her hand, and black mist comes out. I know, somehow, if that mist touches me, I'll be dead within the minute. Realizing this, I try to move, get out of the way, but I'm paralyzed with terror. Just as the mist is about to touch me, my dad...

He jumps in the way...

"NO!"

My dad falls at my feet, rapidly losing consciousness.

Desperation cancels out the fear in me. I drop to my knees, futilely trying everything I can, anything to save him, using my Stealing Alice, babbling endlessly to try and keep him awake. But it's useless. This... Isn't something I can help with...

Tears sting at my eyes and streak my cheeks, with the knowledge that my dad's dying, I'm right here in front of him, yet... I can't do anything.

"No, you can't die, you can't leave, there's still time," I say, but my dad puts a shaking hand on mine.

I look into his eyes, hazel meeting blue, and I see relief in his eyes. Relief?

"This is okay. It's alright. At least I'll die knowing I saved you," my dad says, squeezing my hand, and my tears fall on his face.

My dad takes a breath, and I know that it's the last he's going to take. "Stay strong, be happy, and keep smiling because I know you can and you will."

He releases a shuddering breath, and his eyes close, life slipping away, for the last time.

I cry, sobs racking my body.

Luna steps towards me, seemingly satisfied. I glare at her, silently daring her to step closer.

She strolls, ignoring my piercing glare, and says, "I won't steal your soul. I will instead curse you. Curse you to have a tragic life, to see everyone around you suffer, but leave yourself unable to do anything about it. Lastly, I curse you, Sakura Mikan, to die on your 16th birthday!"

She points her forefinger at me, and draws even closer, and I flinch, wanting to move, but again, I can't. Her finger touches my forehead, and I can tell the curse has been placed.

The curse spreads throughout the woods like wildfire, affecting anybody inside or near the clearing, excluding Luna herself.

Laughing victoriously, she walks away, and disappears into the shade of the woods.

-End of Chapter 3-

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A/n: 3rd chapter finished! Yay! I actually finished this chapter on the bus and in school, so ultimate achievement. Oh yeah, I forgot to put this in the last chapters:

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice, all rights belong to Tachibana-san.**

Ok! So that's all done and over, and hope you enjoyed reading! Don't forget to review! Until the next chapters!


	4. Chapter 4: Remembrance

*Recap*

Luna steps towards me, seemingly satisfied. I glare at her, silently daring her to step closer.

She strolls, ignoring my piercing glare, and says, "I won't steal your soul. I will instead curse you. Curse you to have a tragic life, to see everyone around you suffer, but leave yourself unable to do anything about it. Lastly, I curse you, Sakura Mikan, to die on your 16th birthday!"

She points her forefinger at me, and draws even closer, and I flinch, wanting to move, but again, I can't. Her finger touches my forehead, and I can tell the curse has been placed.

The curse spreads throughout the woods like wildfire, affecting anybody inside or near the clearing, excluding Luna herself.

Laughing victoriously, she walks away, and disappears into the shade of the woods.

**Chapter 4: ****Remembrance**

I can still hear her laughter, echoing through the woods. I drop to the ground, and I can feel myself quickly losing consciousness. I drag myself over to Okaa-san, sprawled on the ground about five feet away. She has long since lost consciousness. When the curse was cast, it spread throughout the clearing, affecting everyone, including Okaa-san, and since she was in the clearing, it's probably a given she's cursed as well. Maybe more severely than others who have been involved with me.

My vision flickers at the edges, but I know I'm almost there. I close the small gap, and I reach to take Okaa-san's cold hand, along with Otou-san's, lying near her. Just as I make contact with their fingertips, I falter, and drop to the ground, entirely depleted of any strength I have left. But as my consciousness slips away, I hear a voice.

"Mikan!"

I look towards the voice, and faintly see Natsume along with... Hotaru?

Everything goes black.

My dreams are restless. I see Otou-san dying all over again, Okaa-san collapsing to the ground, and I can see Natsume and Hotaru arriving, all through a blur. Once again, it completely fades to black.

* * *

"Imai, have you found Mikan?"

I look over at the crimson-eyed boy, and raise an eyebrow. "Does it look like I found Mikan?"

"Whatever," he says.

Ever since Mikan came to my house, unannounced, I should add, I had a dark feeling in the pit of my stomach. I kept it hidden behind my poker face, but I couldn't help but feel worried when Mikan left and went over to Hyuuga's house. As a precaution, I put a tracking device on her shoulder, with poor audio(I didn't have time to make anything better), and there I faintly heard everything. Something about a curse, Mikan's scream, and a thump as the tracking device broke. For what reasons, I don't know.

Soon after the tracking device broke, I called Hyuuga and told him to search for Mikan immediately, and I came over after I hung up. We haven't been searching long, but I'm getting anxious.

Abandoning all dark thoughts, I search on my duck scooter, and shout Mikan's name. I burst through the woods and I see a clearing. Mikan's there, along with her mom and dad, and I scream her name. Natsume runs up behind me, and Mikan sees us for a split second before collapsing.

I jump off the scooter and run over to her, but she seems to be sleeping. I drag her over to my scooter, and drape her on the seats. I push for a second before glaring at Hyuuga. He sees and walks over with an annoyed expression before helping with her parents. He puts both of them on his shoulders with a grunt.

We somehow make it through the woods, and I pass Hyuuga's parents, I tell them that I'll be taking all of them home. They nod at me with a bewildered expression, and finally turn their gaze over to Natsume, who has two people on his shoulder, yet isn't bothered by it, despite being eleven. He takes Mikan's dad and hands him over to his mom, who checks his pulse, only to find that... There isn't any. Tears streak down my face before I realize it, and Hyuuga's parents are crying also. I walk over and check Mikan's mom's pulse, and I sigh in relief. It's there, but it's faint. I leave her dad there at the Hyuuga's though, knowing they'll treat him well. I put Mikan's mom on my scooter too, and I use an Alice stone to teleport us all into my house.

My brother sees me, and asks me a question in his eyes, but after a second, he seems to sense that this is not the time for questions, which it is. He walks over and begins treatment on the both of them immediately, using his Healing Alice.

An hour later, he seems to give up, somehow his Alice isn't working, and goes upstairs to sleep, but after he makes sure that I tell him what happened tomorrow.

I stay at Mikan and her mom's side for the whole entire night, before eventually drifting off to sleep, and I dream of the first time I met her.

* * *

A small girl with hazel eyes, and soft auburn hair walks towards me, a smile on her face. I glare at her, and she falters for a second, but she surges forward like nothing had even happened. She stops, a few feet away from me.

"My name is Sakura Mikan! Nice to meet you!" she says chirpily. "What's your name?"

I glare at her with cold eyes, but she seems to be unaffected. I turn away from her, before muttering, "Imai Hotaru."

I look at her for a second, and her eyes are as wide as saucers. I smirk, and they widen even further.

"Why?" I ask.

"Why what?" she asks, snapping out of her trance.

"Never mind," I say.

That was the first time I met Mikan, when we were 5 years-old. We've been best friends ever since.

* * *

I pace around the room, impatient. It's been two days since the incident in the woods, and I'm dying to hear what this curse is about. I mean, I've heard about it, but only fuzzily. I'm waiting to hear about it from her own mouth.

But the dummy still doesn't wake up. Even in her sleep, she mutters about the curse every now and then, and a look of anguish covers her face after that.

I stop pacing. Mikan stirs, and finally, finally, opens her eyes. She blinks for a second, and I walk over to her.

She says, "Hi, Hotaru!" like nothing's wrong, but I know she's faking it.

I ask, "What's the curse about?"

A torturous, grief-stricken look crosses her face. She fakes a smile, and says nervously, "Wh-what are you talking about, Hotaru?"

"Don't lie. Your dad died, your mom somehow contracted a disease of some sorts, and you've been sleeping for about two days. I already know there's a curse, I just don't know the specifics of it. Tell me," I demand, looking at her.

She turns away from me, and a tear streaks down her cheek. She starts telling me about the curse.

-End of Chapter 4-

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**Disclaimer: All rights to Gakuen Alice belongs to Tachibana-san.**

A/N: Yay, done with the fourth chapter! I'm going to be starting the next chapter right away, and hopefully I'll have it up soon. Anyway, how do you like the story so far? Tell me by reviewing! By the way, the next chapter will be dramatic. Mikan will change, is all I can tell you. It's just going to get more exciting from here! Lastly, I might alternate between Okaa-san/Otou-san or father or mother, just to let you know. Anyway, until the next chapter! Bye!


	5. Chapter 5: Terms

_*Recap*_

A torturous, grief-stricken look crosses her face. She fakes a smile, and says nervously, "Wh-what are you talking about, Hotaru?"

"Don't lie. Your dad died, your mom somehow contracted a disease of some sorts, and you've been sleeping for about two days. I already know there's a curse, I just don't know the specifics of it. Tell me," I demand, looking at her.

She turns away from me, and a tear streaks down her cheek. She starts telling me about the curse.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Terms**

I finish telling Hotaru everything I know about the curse. A look of shock crosses her face for a second, but she regains her composure so quickly, I wonder if I imagined it.

"Before you say anything, you are definitely not allowed to help or interfere with my curse. I won't let you," I say.

Hotaru looks like she wants to argue, but before she does, I ask, "Weren't we supposed to be in school, if I really did sleep for two days?"

The distraction must've worked because she replies, "Baka, I'm here because I was to watch over you. You're here because you were sleeping."

I get up, stretch, walk over to Okaa-san and softly wake her up.

I say, "Thanks, Hotaru, I'll see you soon."

I give her a huge, wide, cheery smile, and I promise to myself it's the last one I'll ever give.

Hotaru frowns, her eyebrows almost connecting. I think she senses something is wrong.

Then Okaa-san blinks, yawns, seems to sense the situation, then says, "Let's go, then."

I nod and she gets up, but as soon as she's on her feet, she crumples to the ground. I help her up, and we leave, taking slow steps to our house next-door.

Hotaru's probably wondering why I said "see you soon" instead of "see you tomorrow". That's mainly because I have no intention of going to school tomorrow. I have a favor to ask of Persona. Knowing him, he'll be suspicious, but he'll permit it.

We finally reach the house, and I clumsily unlock the door. We walk over to the couch, and Okaa-san sits down heavily. I start to walk away, when Okaa-san starts to speak.

"I know I don't have a lot of strength left, so I'll do what I can right now."

I turn around, confused. What she can do?

"Listen, Mikan," she says. "I'll try and use the last of my power to use my Alice and steal as much of the curse as I can."

I look at her, alarmed. Even I know she can't use her Alice right now, at least without some serious consequences. She sees my expression and smiles.

"I'm going to die, Mikan, but I'm going to use the last of my power to try and save you from this curse, as much as I'm capable of," she says.

It sounds like what Otou-san said, right before he died. I walk over to her, and she puts a hand on my forehead. A bright blue light comes from her fingers, and she withdraws her hand, revealing a tiny black stone.

She hands it to me, then leans back, gasping. A sheen of sweat covers her face. I sit next to her, a look of shock on my face.

She says, "I took as much of the curse I could. Listen carefully, Mikan, because it's very important."

I grip the stone and look at her, completely focused on what she's saying. The next words she says, I know I'll remember, and I know they're going to be her last.

"You have until you turn 16. You have power to make anyone turn pure, except the truly malicious. Always smile, because that is your gift and yours alone." She pauses."Friendship is built on trust. If you cannot trust, you will get nowhere."

By this point, I have no idea what she's talking about. But I hold onto the words like a lifeline.

Okaa-san takes a shuddering breath, her last. "Lastly, I love you." She smiles at me one last time, before releasing her breath. She closes her eyes for the last time.

Tears stream down my cheeks. I have now just watched both of my parents die. Guilt fills up inside me. They died because of me.

I hand over the stone to her lightly, enclosing her small fist around it. It's the result of her power. People should know that.

I walk over to the phone, and make two calls. One to make funeral arrangements, and one that scares the crap out of me. One call to Persona.

"Hello, Persona?"

"Hello, Mikan, finally giving up?" he says.

He's talking about the missions. He's been trying to get me to do missions for about two years now.

"Yes, but first I have some conditions." I say, and hopefully he'll listen to them.

He chuckles, amusement in his voice. "Let's hear them, then."

I take a deep breath. "First, you have to take me out of the academy to train me, while doing the missions." I pause, waiting for his reply.

"I suppose it's reasonable. May I ask why?"

I go on, ignoring his question. "Secondly, don't threaten others to make me do the missions. I'll do them without complaint."

"Done," he replies, without any hesitation.

"Lastly, don't use Natsume for missions anymore. It's not needed." I say, silently hoping he'll say yes.

Apparently, Natsume's Alice is so strong, that even when he wears his cat mask, his restraining device, which is said to be the strongest ever made, he can still use his Alice. There, he got the nickname Black Cat, and became his code name on missions. Missions that happened to force him to use his Alice, an Alice that threatened his life every time he used it, and equally life-threatening missions, that go against people who want the Academy to fall, or missions to retrieve an Alice.

I don't want Natsume to die. Him, most of all, I want to protect, and I think training with Persona will help me achieve that goal.

"...Fine." he says finally. "Is that all?"

I release my breath I've been holding and reply, "Yes."

"Then let's get started."

* * *

A/N: Yay! Fifth done. Next chapter will be... Interesting, at least. Look forward to it. It's going to be so much fun! Anyway, review, and I hope you liked it! Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: All rights to Gakuen Alice belong to Tachibana-san. Only the plot is of my own creation!**


	6. Chapter 6: Return

_*Recap*_

"...Fine. Is that all?" he says finally.

I release my breath I've been holding and say, "Yes."

"Then let's get started."

* * *

**Chapter 6: Return**

The training Persona gives me is harsh.

Persona is cold. He's the moderator for one of the five Alice-based classes: Somatic, Latent, Technology, Special, and Dangerous, which he teaches.

I used to be in the Special Abilities class, with my Stealing Alice, I guess it made sense. Then, some teacher decided I was dangerous, and transferred me into the Dangerous Abilities class.

I met Persona when I was 8, and he really scared me then. With him wearing a silver mask, black clothing, eleven Alice controlling devices, and spiky black hair, it wasn't really a surprise. Also the fact he has the Mark of Death Alice. That alone can make anybody take a detour, just to avoid him. But, now that I've trained with him and got to know him a little bit better, he's not so scary.

Persona took me out of the school, as promised, and took me to some foreign place, with lots of seclusion. I ended up missing my parents' funeral. I really didn't mind though, because I don't think I could've make it through the whole thing anyway.

We train, every single day. It was August when we started; it's now December and January is just around the corner. While I train, he also tutors me, ensuring that I don't miss out on my studies.

The first days were harsh. I went to bed with bruises and cuts covering my entire body. But I learned quickly. I learned combat, control over my Alice, and lastly, how to be cold and reserved, which was a part of my goal in the first place.

As long as the curse lasts, I can't be involved with anyone, otherwise they will be affected too; and I can't, won't, allow that to happen.

It's weird though, because although Persona has the Mark of Death Alice, enabling him to kill anything he touches, or exerts his power on, it hasn't affected me at all. I guess maybe because he put on an extra controlling device?

A roundhouse kick comes flying near my face, and I block quickly, feinting left, while I drop to my hands to kick Persona's feet under me. He jumps, using my shoulders, and I grab his hands to toss him to the ground. I put a foot on his chest, and smirk, feeling triumphant, even though it's not the first time beating Persona, and I have a feeling he wasn't trying that hard, anyway.

I let him up, offer him my hand, and he grips it, pulling himself up. A wry grin spreads across his face, and he says, "Alright, I'd say you're my favorite student now. This time though, it's for real."

As soon as he says the words, a fist comes flying towards me, and I hold his fist, and use it to twist him around and to the ground. It doesn't work, though; he's too big and strong.

The fight continues for a long time; I have lost track, too into the fight. We keep going, at a stalemate, until he wins when I accidentally trip over a rock and sprain my right ankle.

Persona gets the first aid box, and tends to my foot. He sets it, and I grimace. After a few minutes, it's all tended to, and I know I don't need to go to the hospital. Persona puts a cast on my foot, and says, "Don't walk on it for some time."

Seeing my expression, he chuckles quietly, and changes the subject. "In two weeks, you'll be going back to school, and you're arriving just on your birthday. So, happy birthday."

I'm surprised, but I don't show it and instead, spin on my left foot and go to my room to pack. Interesting, I think.

* * *

** (2 weeks later, Natsume's POV)**

"Hey, hey, did you hear?" An annoying girl says loudly. I blink, irritated, and I go back to my book.

"Yeah, about Sakura Mikan, right? I heard she's coming back soon,"

I glance up, surprised.

"Oi, Ruka, did you hear about that?" I ask in a monotone.

Ruka stops petting his rabbit, and glances at me, surprise also in his sapphire eyes. "About Sakura? No, I didn't hear about it until this morning. Why, Natsume?"

I don't reply, and instead go back to my manga.

Ruka walks over to Hotaru, who seems to have also heard the news, because she says, before Ruka can speak, "I have heard about Mikan; she is coming, but I don't know when."

Ruka comes back, his blond bangs covering his eyes.

Ever since that girl left, I haven't been going on missions. It was weird, and I was hoping that she wasn't stupid enough to take my place, but after her parents' death, I wouldn't be surprised at anything she had done.

I had stomped to Persona's room to confirm it, and barged in, but it was like nobody had even lived there. I asked the teachers where he was, but they seemed to know either. Ever since then, I've always wondered what exactly happened to the girl.

"I heard she was going on missions all this time, and in her spare time, she trained," the annoying girl keeps saying.

I clench my book, and think about when she's going to come back.

All of a sudden, Narumi comes in, looking excited. I look at him closely. He seems to be more excited than usual, I conclude.

"Everyone, I'm sure you know this by now, but Sakura Mikan is coming back," he says, excitement in his violet eyes.

Everybody murmurs, talking about the girl.

Narumi flips his blond hair, and continues speaking. "Well, what you don't know is that she's here right now. Come on in, Mikan-chan!"

Everybody gasps, and looks towards the girl now stepping inside the classroom.

In her school uniform, consisting of a a black cardigan over a white collared, long-sleeved shirt, matched with a plaid red mini-skirt, and black knee-length boots, her auburn hair, hazel eyes, same height, are all familiar, but something's different, other than the cast on her right foot.

She finally speaks, and everybody is surprised. "Hello."

Everyone in the classroom freezes, even me, at her tone.

Uninterested, bored, with no hint of emotion in her voice. I examine her face closely. There's no emotion there, either. It's like she became a completely different person in the span of four months.

She walks to her old seat, the seat next to mine, and sits down. I look at her, and she seems to sense this, and glares at me. Glares.

While everyone is wondering what happened to her, I'm thinking, why did this happen to her?

-End of Chapter 6-

* * *

**Disclaimer: All rights to Gakuen Alice belong to Tachibana-san. **

A/N: Hi! Surprised? I kind of am.. Anyway, hope you liked the mini fight scene, but if you didn't, give me some advice so I can at least improve. It was my first fight scene, after all. Anyway, review, comment, favorite, etc. Until the next chapter! Bye!

P.S. I'm going to be switching POVs more often now, so I'll just put a note on whose POV it's in.


	7. Chapter 7: The Sakura Tree

_*Recap*_

She walks to her old seat, the seat next to mine, and sits down. I look at her, and she seems to sense this, and glares at me. Glares.

While everyone is wondering what happened to her, I'm thinking, why did this happen to her?

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Sakura Tree**

Narumi-sensei walks out, but not before saying it's self-study.

I get out a book, and start to read. As soon as I do, almost half the class comes up to me. Everyone is asking what happened to me, my ankle, why did I leave, and after about seventy questions, I finally get fed up, and say in the coldest voice I have, "Don't disturb me. I'm trying to read here, and all you're doing is annoying me. Get lost."

Everybody recoils, and a girl... I remember her name now. Shouda comes up to me, emerald eyes glinting in fury. She says, "You have no right to talk to people like that, Sakura-san."

She flips her permed, green hair.

I laugh, a cold laugh, at her. "No right? And who made you the queen of this class, Permy?"

She stiffens, and shrieks, "Permy?! I have a name, you know, and you would do well to remember it, Sakura-san!"

She raises her hand, and slaps me. The slap resounds throughout the room. It is dead silent. I hold my cheek, bewildered. She seems to take this as a sign to keep going.

"What are you going to do about this, Sakura-san?" she sneers at me.

I swing my gaze over to her, and I can see everyone. They shudder after seeing my eyes. Permy freezes, finally realizing her mistake. I use my Stealing Alice to scan through people's Alices, find the one I want, and steal some of the Levitating Alice. I grip the stone and lift her up. I glare at her the whole entire time.

She's almost touching the ceiling now. I drop her suddenly, making her stop a few inches from the ground. Then I release her. I stroll over to the kid I stole the Alice from, a half-bald kid, (I think his name was Mochu?) and insert it back in. I walk over to the window, open it, and I get ready to jump. I look back.

"Take this as a warning. Come any closer to me, and you'll get something a lot worse than Permy got."

I jump out the window, even though we're six stories up, and I land safely on one of the branches of the sakura tree.

I settle into a crook of a branch, and there it starts. I cough, the coughs racking my body, coughing until I feel like I can't breathe, coughing until I finally spit out the wallop of blood. I look at my hand, covered in the ruby liquid, wipe my mouth on the back of my hand, and jump down from the branches. I head to the bathrooms to wash all the blood off.

On my way there, I see my old senpai, Andou Tsubasa. He has blue hair and eyes, a beanie on his head, a star tattoo under his left eye, and the middle school uniform of a black jacket, a white shirt, blue ribbon, blue plaid pants, and brown shoes.

He sees me and immediately brightens, running over to pick me up and twirl me around, ignoring my stiff posture, exclaiming, "I haven't seen you in so long! Where have you been? How have you been?"

I shove him away with the other hand, and continue on my way to the bathrooms. A worried expression crosses his face, and he asks me, "What's wrong?"

Tsubasa-senpai sees the blood on my hand, and picks my hand up. I snatch it back, and whirl around to face him. I say, "Don't get involved, and stay away from me."

Then I spin on my heels and run, leaving him in the dust.

I sprint as fast as I can towards the bathrooms, and I wash my hands as quickly as I can, leave, and make my way over to the sakura tree. My back touches the trunk, and I slide to the ground, tears finally leaving my eyes. I cry silently, just in case anybody's nearby. And someone is. Damn.

He jumps down from the branches, and sees me crying. He puts a hand on my head, just like he did years ago.

Natsume doesn't ask why I'm crying. He just stands there and pats my head. Just like that day years ago.

-End of Chapter 7-

* * *

**Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice doesn't belong to me, but belongs to Tachibana-san.**

A/N: Kinda sad, I know. But I'm sorry to tell you it's probably going to get sadder. Anyway, hope you liked it, and review! I already have 7 chapters up, but only 1 review? Come on, review, please! Also, there's going to be some more NxM moments from now on. And that's about it! Bye! Until the next chapter!


	8. Chapter 8: Mask

_*Recap*_

Natsume doesn't ask why I'm crying. He just stands there and pats my head. Just like that day years ago.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Mask**

Crap, why is he here? Of all the people of this school, it was him who saw me crying? I look up into his crimson eyes. Big mistake. I slap his hand away, trying to regain my composure.

I ask coolly, "What are you doing?"

He doesn't reply.

I start to walk away, and he grabs my hand. I look at him, confused, although I see nothing in his mask, it still makes me hesitate for a moment, and then I shake his hand off.

I can't let it bother me. It's for his own good, I keep repeating to myself. But I can't help the momentary surge of sadness in my heart. I push it down by thinking it's to protect him, and him especially, I can't let him be involved with the curse.

I look at him, and I see his emotions are still masked. But despite that, I mouth "sorry". I have a feeling he needs some explanation, but I give him none, and I start sprinting towards the Northern Forest, a forest no one would dare venture except the strongest.

I just hope Natsume's sane enough to not follow me. And he is. I feel relief, but strangely, at the same time, disappointment. I don't leave the forest until hours later.

* * *

Today is my 12th birthday. I shouldn't care, but I do. I wake up early, as usual, and go out to do some training. But as I open the door, something clunks against it. I open the door more slowly this time, and I see presents on the ground. I gasp, start to cry, not because they got me presents, despite me being so mean, but rather more at the fact these are probably going to be the last presents I'll ever receive. I accept them, also accepting the fact they will be the last.

* * *

**Natsume's POV**

I go to class, late as usual, but I really don't care. As always, Permy gushes about how cool I am being late to class to her stupid fan club. I see the girl, and I act like nothing happened yesterday, and I can see she wants it that way.

But yesterday... It was like that day, and I think she realizes that, too. I really didn't expect her to slap my hand, though. I have no idea why she's acting like this, or even what made her become like this. Man, I haven't even seen her smile once, or show a hint of emotion, excepting yesterday.

The annoying class is loud, but quieter than usual. It's probably because of the girl.

All of a sudden, she doubles over and starts coughing. She tries to keep it quiet, and is mostly successful. Nobody notices except her old friends, and me. But we don't do anything.

The coughs are severe, though, shaking her entire body. She coughs one last time, and abruptly stops. She takes her hand away from her mouth, but not before I see the glistening red smeared across her entire hand.

I grab her wrist, and she glares at me, daring me to keep holding on to it. And I do. I inspect her hand, and it's blood.

I ask, "Why were you coughing out blood?"

She sends a piercing glare at me, but seems to hear something. She walks over to the window, opens it with her other hand, and prepares to jump out. The half the class stares at her.

She says quietly, "Hyuuga, don't you dare do that again."

I smirk, and say, "Why? Is it so wrong to ask a question?"

She ignores my question and replies, "I'm going on a mission, so don't you dare think I'm wimping out.

The entire class is watching us.

She sends me one more glare and jumps out.

-End of Chapter 8-

* * *

A/N: Okay! I know I haven't mentioned Hotaru yet, or Ruka, except for that brief talk, but I'm getting there, so be patient. Also, I need a name for Mikan, like Natsume's Black Cat, so I'm open to any suggestions. Forum's up right now! And that's about it. Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: All rights to Gakuen Alice belong to Tachibana-san.**


	9. Chapter 9: A New Alice

_*Recap*_

She says quietly, "Hyuuga, don't you dare do that again."

I smirk, and say, "Why? Is it so wrong to ask a question?"

She ignores my question and replies, "I'm going on a mission, so don't you dare think I'm wimping out.

The entire class is watching us.

She sends me one more glare and jumps out.

* * *

**Chapter 9: A New Alice**

**Natsume's POV**

What the girl said about the missions basically confirms my suspicions. But I'm frustrated, knowing that she's more useful than I am, and therefore, can't replace her.

* * *

Thank goodness Persona sent me the message when he did. Telepathically, of course.

I jump out the window, ignoring the stares of everyone in the classroom.

Apparently, I have to get a girl from the AAO, or the Anti-Alice Organization. I haven't gotten details yet, but I'm going to Persona's room to get it now.

I use an Alice Stone and teleport to his room.

A voice rings out. "Impeccable timing as always."

I smirk, sensing a punch coming behind me, and I block without even looking. He tries to train me whenever it's possible.

Persona straightens and walks in front of me, looking satisfied, and hands a white masquerade-like mask, not unlike his, but painted with sakura petals, to me. I take it and swiftly put it on.

He says, "Here's your mission. You are to get Ibaragi Nobara, a girl with the Alice of Ice. She is about your age, with icy-blue, wavy hair that flows down to her shoulders, pale skin and a pair of gentle blue eyes... Or so I've been told. You'll find her in the basement, second room on the left."

I nod, not asking where he got the information, but from past experiences, if I ask, I'll just get a knowing chuckle.

I turn to leave, but a hand on my shoulder stops me. I look back, my expression questioning.

Persona hesitates for a second, seems to decide something, and lets go. He says, "Never mind."

I stare at him skeptically for a second, concentrate, and I teleport away.

* * *

The AAO are strong, but not strong enough that I couldn't handle them, but I go invisibly(using another Alice Stone) just in case.

I sneak into the relatively empty-looking, tall, plain, secluded warehouse, immediately see the stairs leading down, and I walk through the corridor to it, watching all the guards for a sign I've been noticed. They haven't, and I go down the stairs.

Two men come up on my left, and I dodge quickly. Crap. I have no trouble dealing with them, but I've definitely been discovered by everybody in the basement, which is troublesome, but luckily, not upstairs.

Three more men come towards me, fist clenched and flying through the air, and I release my concentration on the Invisible Alice Stone. I fight them, using my Alice and knowledge from training, and in five seconds, they're all unconscious. But their distraction has worked.

Just as I finish handling the last of the three guards, a flaming lightning bolt, consisting of two Alices combined, comes flying towards my face, and I have no time to think. But about three feet away, it happens.

It fizzles into nothing.

I'm just as confused as the remaining guards are, and they try again, only to find the same result.

I rush towards the rest of the guards, not using my Alice for the whole time I'm fighting them, and as the last guard falls to my feet, I grin. My hunch was right; I have now unearthed a new Alice.

-End of Chapter 9-

* * *

A/N: Done. It was short, I know. I'm going to try and make the next one longer. I'm guessing you know what the new Alice is, and if you're thinking what I'm thinking, you're probably right. I hope you enjoyed it, and review! I still need a new name! I can't upload the next chapter until I find a suitable one! Again, forum's up! Or you can PM me, either way's fine! No ideas are bad!Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice, because it belongs to Tachibana-san.**


	10. Chapter 10: Waiting

_*Recap*_

I rush towards the rest of the guards, not using my Alice for the whole time I'm fighting them, and as the last guard falls to my feet, I grin. My hunch was right; I have now discovered a new Alice.

* * *

**Chapter 10: Waiting**

A man with russet brown hair and amethyst eyes strolls towards me. I raise my is the last one standing, yet is acting as if he's got all the time in the world.

He can't be dumb enough to relax, knowing that I knocked out all the people before him, so he must have a reason. I tense into a fighting stance.

He chuckles and says, "Relax. My name is Mouri Reo," he takes off an earring on his right ear, "and I have the Voice Pheromone Alice." He pauses, waiting to see my expression, expecting it to be horror, but is disappointed.

I am actually terrified of what will happen if my newfound Alice doesn't work. But it all goes behind my facade.

"Sleep!"

Nothing happens. He frowns, wondering, and I now know what my new Alice is. I now have the Inserting and Stealing Alice from my mom, and Nullification, inherited from my dad.

I grin, and before Mouri can even think, I knee him the stomach, and he slumps to the ground, winded. I use an Alice Stone among many to make him sleep.

With him down, I look closely at him and find a key ring, containing dozens of keys, on his belt. I kneel down and swiftly remove the key ring and walk purposely towards the only cell that isn't empty.

I unlock the door, and the girl inside awakens, blinking her ice-like eyes, and shakes her light blue hair, rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes.

I wonder how exactly she managed to sleep through the commotion I made, but woke up from a small click the lock made.

I slip into the cell and look around, noting how small and plain it is. I step towards Ibaragi Nobara and offer her my hand, and she takes it cautiously.

Before she can react, I produce a blue Alice stone from my pocket, concentrate, and we teleport away and into Persona's room.

He says, "Nice job as usual, Sakura Hime," he mocks me. "It took three hours, not your best, but good enough."

I turn to him, take my mask off, and raise an eyebrow.

He snickers, and I ask, "At least give me a day off from school. I'm exhausted nearly to the the point of delirium, and my Alices aren't far behind, either."

Now it's his turn to raise an eyebrow. "Alices? You've found the other?"

"What do you mean, have I found the other?" I demand. "Does that mean you already know about it?"

He smirks, and responds, "Of course I knew about it. This morning, I forgot to wear my strongest controller,"

That confirms what I thought. But what does that have to do with my Alice?

"Meaning, you would've been affected by the Mark of Death Alice by now, if you didn't have the Nullification Alice," he continues.

Damn, so he even knows what Alice it is?

"I knew it was the Nullification because your father had the same Alice." he states.

I raise an eyebrow. He knew my dad? I feel a momentary sadness of the fact I don't know something about my dad, but I push it down. And why does he know what questions I'm going to ask before I ask them?

"To answer your questions, one, I knew your dad when I was a kid, and yes, I was a kid at one point," he answers, seeing the question in my mind.

Persona adds, "This whole conversation has been in our head the whole time, to answer your second question."

I think back and realize he's right. He hasn't been talking from his mouth this entire time. I look at Ibaragi, and she has a quizzical expression, not understanding what just transpired between the seemingly one-sided conversation between Persona and I. If the conversation was really in our minds, the whole exchange would've took about ten or twenty seconds.

I let go of Ibaragi's hand, promptly take my mask off, and hand both to Persona. I mock-salute to him, and he nods, allowing tomorrow to be taken off.

I squeeze the blue stone in my left hand, and in a flash, I'm in my special star room.

A new Alice, I muse, before walking and collapsing on my bed.

I guess I really was exhausted to the point of delirium.

* * *

**Natsume's POV **

Imai calls all of the girl's old friends, to my room naturally, being the biggest.

I sit down on the floor, irritated. What could she want at... I look at the clock. Four in the morning?

Imai, Ruka, me, Koko, Permy, the pink one, and the blue one are all sitting on the carpet, in that order, in a jumbled up circle.

Ruka yawns, and asks the question that's in everyone's mind. "Imai, why'd you call us here?"

Imai says three words, just three, to get all of our attention, to get us all to freeze. "It's about Mikan."

I bark, "What about Mikan?"

Everybody stares at me, shocked.

I snap at them. "What?"

"You just called her by name. You never did that before," Ruka replies incredulously.

I shrug, "First time for everything. Anyway, what about her?"

Imai says, "We need to do something about her. She's not herself."

Permy retorts, "Isn't that obvious? She's not dumb anymore, doesn't smile, has a hellish attitude, and frankly, scares the shit out of me, which shouldn't be possible, if we're talking about the same naïve, stupid, happy, think-after she-does-something girl."

We all agree in our heads.

Imai says quietly, "I think she's doing it on purpose."

Everyone's heads turn towards her, excluding mine, though I suspected it, I still wonder what it means.

The blue one skeptically asks, "On purpose? Mikan-chan wouldn't do that to us. And remember, she changed after she left with Persona."

The pink one adds, "Nonoko-chan's right. And Mikan-chan doesn't have a reason to do that to us anyway, and even if she was acting, she couldn't do it that well."

"I've seen her mind, although it was for a second. It was overwhelmingly sad. I would believe you guys, but after seeing her mind, I can't exactly be sure," Koko cuts in, still using his cheery expression.

"Koko's right. I have a reason to contradict all those things." Imai mutters.

Ruka says, "Let's hear it, then,"

Imai speaks, "You know the incident with the clearing?"

We all nod, remembering. Back then, when we were close friends with Mikan, although the majority of them weren't there, I filled them in a couple days afterwards, but we didn't have the whole story, though someone did.

"A few hours before she went to your house," she says, turning to me, "she went to my house to kill some time. But since she arrived, I had a bad feeling. Call it instinct or whatever, but I attached a tracking device with poor audio on it. So when she entered the clearing-"

"So that's how you knew." I cut her off.

She glares at me. I mutter "sorry" before she goes on. Everybody stares at me for the second time that night. I shrug.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, when she entered the clearing, I heard, more or less, everything. Remember though, I didn't have time to make the best audio system there was so I couldn't hear it clearly. But I heard something about a witch named Luna, Mikan's scream, and something about a curse before the tracking device broke." Imai says in a monotone.

Hearing it said like that makes it more haunting. I look around at each one of their faces. The blue and pink ones, along with Permy have a look of shock, Koko with an expression that tells me he expected this, and Ruka with a face full of horror. I turn back to Imai who continues speaking.

"So I waited Mikan to wake up, and when she finally did, I made her tell me what the curse was about, and what exactly happened in the clearing."

We all lean forward, urging her to go on. But it is there she stops.

"Mikan told me, but she also made me promise her not to get involved. And frankly, after hearing about her curse, I can't blame her for feeling that way. I can only tell you when I'm sure she'll allow me to tell you."

Ruka sighs in resignation. "Well, what do we do now, then?"

Imai simply says, "We wait. We wait for her to say it's okay. And until she does, that's all we can do."

-End of Chapter 10-

* * *

A/N: It's really sad, but soon, soon it's going to get a lot more interesting. Next chapter, something will change. Man, I couldn't think of a name until my friend recommended it to me. So, thanks you guys. Lastly, I know I promised MxN moments, but I really don't know when it's officially going to start. I guess it'll pop out when you're least expecting it, so look forward to it! Review, please! It's like food to my brain and gives me motivation! So if you don't want to read crappy chapters, please review! Until the next chapter! Bye!

Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice does not belong to me, but rather Tachibana-san.


	11. Chapter 11: A Forgotten Window

Note:

There was a time skip of two years so here are everyone's ages

Mikan - 14

Natsume - 14

Ruka - 14

Hotaru - 14

Anna - 14

Nonoko - 14

Tobita Yuu - 14(haven't introduced, but will officially soon)

Tsubasa - 16

Misaki(who I haven't introduced yet, but will soon) - 16

Persona - 27

Narumi - 26(and all the other teachers too, haven't introduced but will)

And that's about it!

* * *

_*Recap*_

Ruka sighs. "Well, what do we do now, then?"

Imai simply says, "We wait. We wait for her to say it's okay. And until she does, that's all we can do."

* * *

**Chapter 11: A Forgotten Window**

I knew the curse would come to affect people I was close to, but I didn't expect it to happen even after I purposefully distanced myself from them. Fortunately, they got the message and left me alone during these two years. Even Hyuuga. For reasons I don't comprehend, it left me with a feeling of relief and disappointment. Of course, relief was bound to be felt, but disappointment? I didn't get that one.

But the curse...It had started, suddenly, without warning on a typical Monday.

Everyone's Alices went out of control.

Hotaru's, I mean Imai's, was the first. Her inventions would go haywire and rampage around the school, and although we managed to calm all her inventions, she was forbidden to make anymore in case it happened again.

Hyuuga's Fire Alice would abruptly attack people, the unlucky person who dared to stray inside the invisible border that expanded to about five feet on all sides. Though some people, namely Permy and her fan club, were stupid enough after they got burned countless of times. Although for those times, I couldn't tell if Hyuuga used his Alice on purpose. But, it still left him drained and exhausted.

Even Tobita Yuu, the nice blond kid with glasses, nicknamed Iinchou, even his well-controlled Alice went out of control. I think it was one of the hardest to beat, with the Alice being the Alice of Illusion. Anytime somebody would try to beat the illusion, it just conjured up another realistic illusion to send the unfortunate person into disarray. Eventually though, it was beaten by knocking the wielder of the Alice himself, unconscious. He has been unconscious for about a week now.

Everyone's Alices went out of control; except for mine. Although it had the potential to go out of control, being the Stealing, Inserting, and Nullification Alices, it never did. So one day, a girl, I think one of the loyal followers of the Natsume-Ruka fan club, pointed me out as the culprit.

The teachers gave me my restraining device, the one I use for missions occasionally, second to only Hyuuga's in strength, gave me it to wear all day, every day. It honestly gave me severe migraines though I never let it show. But the Alices still went berserk. So gradually the punishments got worse... And worse...

First it was the mask, then a silver bracelet, then a ruby ring, then a blue cross barrette, and then, punishments from teachers themselves.

Apparently, even after I've been punched, kicked at by other students nearly everyday in class(I didn't try to stop them; I knew it was my fault, but to my credit, I never cried out in pain once or resisted), after I've been hit by Jinno's Electricity Alice(the countless of controlling devices weakening me to the point, that if I even reached for the help of my Alice, it would physically and mentally drain me of any strength I had), the substitute teacher Fukutan's Hair Alice(disgustingly), and unwilling Narumi-sensei's Human Pheromone Alice to knock me unconscious over and over again, the chaos didn't stop, and now the Middle School Principal(who has the Barrier Alice) has a barrier over me even if I'm not near her, about every second of every day. Honestly, I don't know how she lasted this long, using her Alice constantly. But the Alice barrier is annoying; it keeps me from even reaching for my Alice, unless I concentrate really hard.

My old friends watched as all this happened, often being witness to the punishments. Even Hyuuga didn't even look up from his manga when I got beaten up in class. Gradually, the beatings got worse, and on top of the bruises and cuts that appeared suddenly, thanks to the curse, resulting to the bruises and cuts coloring my entire body.

Today, we're making Alice stones, but I'm not all that excited about it. As Narumi-sensei instructs the small portion of the class that's present on how to make Alice stones, an idea hits me. I'm honestly chastising myself for being so stupid, for not thinking of this sooner. Of course, this could've worked.

During class, as everybody attempts, sometimes in vain, sometimes successfully, to make Alice stones, I'm concentrating, stealing small amounts of my own Nullification Alice to make into miniature stones.

After I make the last one huge, I nearly collapse on my own desk. But I don't; I have to keep up my facade.

I smile to myself for the first time in about 3 or 2 years, in relief that everybody's suffering is going to end soon.

* * *

**Natsume's POV** (About 3 AM)

I wake up as I hear my window unlock quietly. But I keep still, pretending as if I'm still sleeping. I hear soft footsteps approach my bed, and I turn over, just to see what the person would do, and they freeze. After making sure that they haven't been caught, the feet approach me, this time more cautiously. The fire walls roar up as the person gets closer, and as I look through my left eye, the person emerges from the fire. I hurriedly close my eye, but frustrated that I didn't get to see their face. With a cool, careful hand brushes against my temple, I know who it is. Only one person's hand would feel this way, and it's her, I'm certain of it. Checking to make sure, I peer over a slit between my eyelids. I'm shocked by what I see.

Mikan stands over me, graceful as a swan, her expression soft, as she looks at me. She keeps staring, and after a moment, she brings a hand to her pocket of her uniform and produces a golf ball-sized orange stone. She takes the stone to my temple, concentrating as she inserts the stone through my temple. There's a bright blue flash, and after it subsides, she looks with alarmed eyes to make sure I'm still sleeping.

She seems to think I am, and as she brushes her long, auburn hair over her shoulder, something even more shocking happens.

She leans over, and softly brushes her lips against mine. I freeze, and she seems to sense this, because in a split second, she hurriedly flees from the room through the window.

Knowing she's gone, I get up and bring a hand up to my lips, still warm and tingly from her kiss. My heart's racing really fast for a reason I don't know. I look at the window, unclosed and forgotten from her flight.

I don't go back to sleep that night.

-End of Chapter 11-

* * *

A/N: There's your MxN moment! There are going to be more, and sorry it took 11 chapters to finally get your anticipated moment! Review, tell me what you thought of it, because honestly, I have no experience in the romance department. Give me some advice, or again, give me your opinion! By the way, you'll find out why I named it the Forgotten Window in the next chapter. Thanks for reading. Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice does not belong to me, but it does belong to Tachibana-san.**


	12. Chapter 12: Fire

_*Recap*_

She leans over, and softly brushes her lips against mine. I freeze, and she seems to sense this, because in a split second, she hurriedly flees from the room through the window.

Knowing she's gone, I get up and bring a hand up to my lips, still warm and tingly from her kiss. My heart's racing really fast for a reason I don't know. I look at the window, unclosed and forgotten from her flight.

I don't go back to sleep that night.

* * *

**Chapter 12: Fire**

I gasp, and fly up from my covers immediately. After taking so much of my Alice and inserting them all into everybody's sleeping bodies, I was exhausted, and about halfway through, I developed a slight fever. Hyuuga's was the last trip I made, and by the time I had reached his room, it took all the strength I had left to keep upright.

I had entered through the window, and the wall of fire erupted, as expected. I went through it, no problem, but Hyuuga rustled, possibly because he used his Alice in his sleep? Anyway, after I inserted the stone, I felt almost possessed by a warm feeling in my heart, that just came when I simply looked at his flawless face, and by impulse, I kissed him!

My cheeks heat up, after reliving the moments from last night. I also feel dread, because almost as soon as my lips touched his, I think he stiffened.

What if he was awake the whole time? What if he woke up when I kissed him? Damn it, why did I have to kiss him, for heavens' sake?!

The question brings me up short. Why did I kiss him? I'm thinking about that as I open the door. I reach my seat, and just as I do, I get dragged in the corner by four pairs of hands. I hit the ground, the wind knocked out of me. I keep my face impassive though; I had half-expected this.

The leader, the girl who started this, my main torturer, sneers in my face. "Our Alices didn't go out of control this morning. So I'm guessing you had something to do with this, witch?"

She grabs a fistful of my hair, and yanks it towards my face. I say nothing as I keep my face blank.

She laughs menacingly. "I can't belive you've gotten this weak, Sakura-san. Our president hasn't done anything to you; sadly, so it's my turn to take over."

And that's when she slaps me, hard, across my face.

* * *

**Natsume's POV**

I slide the door open none too gently, and enter the loud classroom. Immediately, I spot Mikan in the corner of the classroom, near her desk, surrounded by about five people beating her simultaneously. She probably got dragged there.

I head over to my desk, and they continue, still beating her. I'm confused though; if she inserted the same stone, which I found out helped control my Fire Alice, into everybody else, then why would they still beat her up?

I twist around in my seat and see the people beating her are members of Permy's stupid fan club.

I look over to my friends, and they catch my stare, and nod, confirming my suspicions.

I twist around again, and almost tauntingly, burn the tips of all the stupid girls' hair. The girls run around, screaming, trying in vain to put the fire out. I eventually do, but not after I burned about half their hair off.

Mikan looks up, bewildered, but looking exhausted. She catches my eye, and looks away soon after they meet.

All the members of the stupid fan club advance on her, except for Permy. She tries to stop them, but they're too furious to even notice.

It starts raining.

One girl says, "You forced Natsume-sama to help you, right, witch?"

Another girl joins in, "Yeah, you probably threatened him to do so, right?"

All the girls chime in now, saying how mean it was of her to do that, but at the comment of "Natsume-sama's not worthy of your help!", she turns her beautiful face up angrily.

Wait, beautiful?

She exclaims in her melodic voice, "Don't you think I know that?!"

Melodic? What is wrong with me today?!

The class stops in their tracks, after hearing her speak. I stare at her in shock. She hasn't spoken for years now. Hasn't uttered a word, hasn't shown any emotion, hasn't even smiled. It killed me to just stand there and wait, but Imai was right. Though, when I saw her being beaten, for no good reason, even after she helped them, something snapped inside me.

She should've been happy, to see that I cared somewhat, but instead she shoots her famous, familiar, death glare my way.

"He shouldn't have done anything, but no. He just had to be the hero and 'save' me." she snaps, turns towards me and snarls. "Next time, Hyuuga, you bastard-" the fan club gasps at this, "-if you do anything like that again, I will personally arrange your funeral."

It's pouring now.

Everybody in the whole entire room stares in awe, fear, and delight at somebody standing up to me.

She walks over to the window, ruby drops of blood dripping from her freshly-open/made wounds, and slams it open. Everybody, except my friends and I, flinches at the ferocity of the simple action.

She hops onto the windowsill, and sends me one last glare. "Didn't I warn you on the first day, Hyuuga? Don't get involved."

She jumps out into the rain, and onto the sakura tree. I walk over to the window and watch her retreating figure as she sprints towards the Northern Forest.

Somehow, I have a bad feeling about this. I jump out of the window too, ignoring the shrieks of the stupid fan club. I chase after her, and run towards the Forest.

I sprint, the rain soaking me, hair plastered against my face, boots squelching on the mud, but I don't pay attention to it. All I'm thinking about is her and the bad feeling. I finally reach a clearing where I see a small cabin.

I run around, trying to find her, and I do. Just as I reach her at the end of the clearing, she stumbles and knees buckling, she collapses. I manage to catch her at the last second, but she's cold to the touch. I put a hand to her forhead, and as I thought, she's burning up.

Her eyelashes flutter, but she still has the strength to glare at me. She snaps weakly, "Why did you come here, moron? I thought I told you not to get involved."

I say nothing, and her expression softens, though just a little bit.

"Then again, you never were one to listen to anybody." she says.

I chuckle, and reply, "Only around you."

Her hazel orbs widen in indignation. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, I know you were there last night. You forgot to close the window, remember?" Her eyes widen a bit more at this.

Finally, I say, "I know you kissed me."

She blushes, and she mutters something I can't hear. Then she repeats it, this time louder, her eyes hidden behind her soaked hair. "So what are you going to do about it?"

I say, "This," before I trap her lips in a kiss.

She hesitates for a second, and then starts to kiss back. She brings her hand up, tangles her long, elegant fingers in my hair, and I take this as a sign to deepen the kiss. She pulls back a few seconds later, and I smirk.

She glares at me. "Stop smirking, Hyuuga, you arrogant bastard."

This makes my smirk wider.

"But that's what I love about you," she says, her eyes softening, before she slumps in my arms.

-End of Chapter 12-

* * *

A/N: Hope you liked the scene, and there are going to be more later on. But again, I have no experience whatsoever, so please give me your opinion on it! I never thought writing scenes like that could be so hard! Anyway, review, favorite, follow, etc. I mean seriously, 700+ views and only 2 reviews? PLEASE REVIEW! Am dying here. Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: Tachibana-san owns Gakuen Alice, not me. I just own the plot of this story. **


	13. Chapter 13: Healing

_*Recap*_

She glares at me. "Stop smirking, Hyuuga, you arrogant bastard."

This makes my smirk wider.

"But that's what I love about you," she says, her eyes softening, before she slumps in my arms.

* * *

**Chapter 13: Healing**

I stand up, secure her in my arms, and start sprinting like there's no tomorrow. I have no idea if she just developed the fever, or if she had it for a long time.

I jump up on the branches of the trees, gaining ground quickly until a few minutes later, we reach the Academy again.

Instead of walking towards the Middle School Division, I go to the High School Division, where I know Imai's brother, the one with the Healing Alice, will check up on her.

I burst through the double doors, and run, ignoring the stares of the high schoolers. I head to the clinic, where I know I'll find him. I skid to a stop at there, and slide the door open.

Imai looks up at the sound, takes in the sight of Mikan unconscious and us soaking wet, gets up, and pushes us in. He attempts to take Mikan, but I don't let go.

He sighs, "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Your choice, Hyuuga."

I give him Mikan quickly, remembering he also has the Pain Alice. Who knows what he has up in store.

He takes Mikan, and lies her on the dry sheets of the infirmary bed. Imai hovers a hand over her forehead, concentrating hard, and a weak green flash appears. Some of the cuts and bruises go away, but others still remain. I pace around the room impatiently, wanting to know what's happening. Imai frowns, and he withdraws his hand a few minutes later.

I stop pacing and stare at him. He looks up at me, with something like resignation.

"I healed what I could, but the fever, cuts, and bruises still stayed, no matter how hard I tried."

Now it's my turn to frown. "What's wrong with her? Why can't you heal her like you do normally?"

He glares at me through his glasses. "Like I said, I tried. These injuries and the fever isn't caused by something natural. As far I know, she had the fever for about a day now, most likely starting from yesterday, probably at midnight."

I raise an eyebrow. Not natural? What could that mean? My eyes widen in realization. The curse. Of course. I take out a small phone from my pocket, invention #72, made by Imai, and dial her. After a few rings, she picks up.

She says,"How's Mikan?"

I reply, "Why don't you see for yourself?"

A few minutes later, Imai, Ruka, Permy, the blue one and the pink one, Andou, and even doppleganger are in the room.

Andou rushes to the bed. He looks up, worried. "What happened to her?"

Everybody directs their eyes at me, a silent question in their eyes.

"After she ran towards the Forest, she collapsed after I reached her," I say, not technecially a lie, but Imai's, both of them, narrow their eyes in suspicion. Like brother, like sister. "She had some injuries and a fever, so I took her to the High School to get healed by Imai."

He continues, "I healed some of the cuts and bruises, but the fever and the rest of the injuries wouldn't go away. It's because of the curse, right?"

Permy, Imai, the blue and pink, and I all nod in confirmation, while Andou and doppleganger just looks confused.

Andou asks, "What's this about a curse and what's it got to do with my little kouhai?"

I glare at him. "It's just what it sounds like, dumbass. She has a curse, but we don't know exactly what it is, except for Imai,"

We all look at Imai, who sighs.

She says, "Her curse is... Unique. Basically, it kills her slowly and everyone around her is affected, and she will die on her birthday."

Everybody looks shocked.

Ruka asks, "What birthday?"

Imai shakes her head. She mutters, "Mikan never told me. She says she didn't know, and I decided not to push her, even though I knew she was lying. I'm guessing sometime soon, probably on her 18th, or something like that."

I ask, "So how do we cure it?"

Imai snaps, "If I knew how to cure the curse, I would've cured it a long time ago."

I suggest, "Well, why don't we ask another person on how to cure it?"

-End of Chapter 13-

* * *

A/N: Short chapter, I know. But please review, or give me some ideas. I am currently having writer's block, and I am depleted of any ideas I might have. So review, please! Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: Tachibana-san owns Gakuen Alice, not me.**


	14. Chapter 14: Argument

_*Recap*_

I ask, "So how do we cure it?"

Imai snaps, "If I knew how to cure the curse, I would've cured it a long time ago."

I suggest, "Well, why don't we ask another person on how to cure it?"

* * *

**Chapter 14: Argument **

It's really hot in here. Black washes over me in waves of exhaustion. I can hear a voice calling me from far away, coaxing me back into reality. It's... Who? Who is it?

"Mikan!"

My eyes flutter open, and immediately I can see crimson. I see. It was his voice.

He sighs in relief, and I smile weakly at him. He looks shocked, and I manage to say, "I should be the one that's shocked. Not you, Hyuuga... You.. called me... by name just... now, right..?"

He smirks at me, and instead of answering my question, he says, "We're going to take you to one of the Dangerous Ability students, Amane Rui, you know him right?"

I gasp, and sit up. Or, at least attempt to. As soon as I do, nausea washes over me, and it takes all my strength to keep from blacking out and keep upright. I keep my face impassive though, as I've trained myself to do countless of times.

"Are you serious? He has the Alice of Curse. You think he can solve my problem right? Well, news flash. He can't help me. I wouldn't go to him in the first place, and even if I did, he couldn't help me." I snap at Hyuuga, who just looks amused at my statement.

He says, "Why wouldn't you go to him? Because of your curse? Like it or not, we were all involved when I carried you back from the Forest."

I glare at him, and I bet if looks could kill, I would've murdered him countless of times. I yell, "Stupid. Who asked you to get involved? I was fine by myself. You idiot, and after I tried so hard too. It's always your fault; you keep messing stuff up!"

He just smirks, scoops me up from my attic bed, and walks. I fight him, knowing it's futile, but trying anyway.

"You should stop. It's not working." Hyuuga states, after catching my fist and dropping it. He looks serious. "You were unconscious for two days from a fever that reached 103, we also couldn't feed you, you had cuts and bruises coloring your body every few hours, replacing the ones that were healing. Damn, you should be happy you're even alive. Don't make it any worse than it already is."

I stare at him, shocked. This is the most he's ever spoken at one time. First it was calling me by name, then it was possibly worrying about me, and now talking for about a minute straight. I am dumbfounded, but I soon regain my composure.

I raise an eyebrow. "First, where are you taking me? Secondly, were you actually _worried_ about me? And thirdly, you did call me by name, didn't you?"

He chuckles, and says, "I told you we're going to Rui, to cure your curse whether you like it or not. Secondly-"

"And I told you," I say, poking his cheeks. "it's not going to work. Imai must've told you about the curse already; so why are you being so idiotic and getting involved when you know what the curse is going to do, and why don't you get the fact that Rui can't help me?"

He catches my hand. He says grimly, "So call us idiotic for getting involved even after Imai told us" which confirms what I thought. "but we are going anyway. He's an expert on curses, he should know what that thing" he points to my right wrist, where a black rose entwined with a marigold circles it, and I know it means pain, grief, and death. "is."

I say quietly, almost too soft to hear, "It means..."

He hissed, "What? What does it mean? Why do you always keep the important stuff from us, Mikan?"

The use of my name surprises me so much that I answer. "It means pain and grief for the marigold, and the black rose means death."

He sucks in his breath, and I stare at him, too confused at his response at the news. I get that it should shock him, now that he's involved, but this level of reaction... It perplexes me.

He snarls, "Why not tell us that sooner?! You... You are ridiculous!"

I snap, "What? _I'm_ _ridiculous?!_ What about you? You should've expected this, and yet, you say I'm ridiculous when you're the one getting involved? If you say I'm ridiculous, then it should apply to you too, since you can just get out of this whole matter!"

He retorts, "I'm not talking about that. I know it should apply to us, but more to you, instead for not telling us this, and keeping it all to yourself!"

We stop, and I look at him confused. He puts me down on my feet, and my vision flickers with black. My knees shake, my muscles won't work, and I collapse to the cold, marble floor. Hyuuga picks me up again, and we continue on our way. I stare at him confused.

He says, "That was to test your strength. This is why I say you're ridiculous. You're literally at death's door, and you're still worrying about others? On top of that, you don't even seem the least bit worried at the fact somebody engraved you with the mark of death, and that does not mean Persona's Alice."

I'm too shocked to reply. Of course it's natural for me to worry about them. What should I do, not worry and wallow in self-pity? I'm not as pathetic as that. He, of all people, should know that.

"Whatever. I'm going to sleep," I mutter, before closing my eyes.

He shakes me like a rag doll. I snap my eyes open, and glare at him.

"We're almost there. Is it beyond your ability to shut up and stay awake? Or is Little-Miss-Cursed too sleepy?" he taunts.

I scowl at him darkly, and he chuckles at my childish reaction.

He stops abruptly, and says, "We're here," before opening a blue door.

-End of Chapter 14-

* * *

A/N: Hope you liked the mini fight! I really have no idea what the heck I'm going to do for the next chapter. I'm just kinda winging it right now. Fortunately, my writer's block only lasts a few hours before I get more ideas. Hope you liked it, and review! Please! Nearing 800 views, and yet I have 2 reviews! How ridiculous is that?! Please review! Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice, but somebody named Tachibana-san does.**


	15. Chapter 15: The Found Cure

_*Recap*_

I scowl at him darkly, and he chuckles at my childish reaction.

He stops abruptly, and says, "We're here," before opening a blue door.

* * *

**Chapter 15: The Found Cure**

Imai, Nogi, Permy, Umenomiya, Ogasawara, the other Imai, Amane, Andou, and Harada all look up. They're spread out all across the room, doing various things.

I look around the room, avoiding their eyes. The Dangerous Ability room is actually pretty plain. Across the room, there's a small window on the right wall with some black curtains. A couch on the wall next to the right of the door, a desk on the left side of the door, and a couch with a coffee table in the middle.

I finally meet everybody's gaze, but look away almost immediately.

I mumble, "Just invite the whole entire school to see me weak, why don't you."

Hyuuga just snickers quietly. He sets me down on the faded red couch, and I turn over to my left side, facing the couch, not wanting to see them. Hyuuga, however, has other plans. He roughly turns me over, holds me there, and sits down. I glower at him, completely irritated. But I hide my right wrist.

Imai, the younger one, is the first one to break the silence. She says, "I'm glad to see you're conscious this time."

I swing my gaze over to her. She was never this annoying when we were friends. I stay silent though, not wanting to say anything.

Amane walks towards me, and flips his hair. His shoulder-length, strawberry blond hair glistens in the lights, and I wonder why he doesn't cut it.

He sits down, and says, "Now, where's your mark?"

I don't say anything, don't react, but again, Hyuuga, that bastard, messes up my plans. He forcibly grabs my right wrist, the one I was attempting to hide, and shoves in Amane's face. He takes it gently and inspects it. I'm furious, but I have no strength left anymore.

Amane, apparently done looking, lets go of my hand. It falls to the floor, and I can't even bring it up.

He asks, "You have the mark of pain, grief, and death, correct?"

Hyuuga nods in confirmation. I want to slap him, tell him to shut up, or even glare at him, but I can't even do that.

Amane paces around the room for a few minutes. When he finally stops, he says, "I don't know a surefire way that will cure your curse immediately, seeing as-"

"What was the point of coming here then? I told you it wouldn't work!" I get up and yell at both Hyuuga and Amane, but my momentary burst of energy quickly leaves me. I fall to back down on the couch, or at least try to. For the most part, I land on the couch, but my head... Goes into Hyuuga's lap.

He chuckles, and says quietly, so that only I can hear, "You did end up falling for me. But I didn't think there was a second way to fall for someone."

I'm enraged, but I can't even the tips of my fingers, much less my head, or my mouth. It's honestly taking all the strength I have to form coherent thoughts.

Amane continues, "I can't tell you a way to cure the curse immediately, but what you can do is hunt the person who marked you and make them get rid of the curse."

I'm really questioning my sanity now. First the delayed solution with the Alice stones, and now this? Of course that would be the solution. But what Amane says next is completely unexpected and horrifies me.

"But to make them do that, you need to train. Obviously, the way you are now isn't enough to beat a person who had enough strength mark a person with pain, grief, and death. I'd say you need to train for about three years, at least."

I'm shattered inside. Andou sees my expression, comes over, and ignoring the death glare coming from Hyuuga, pats my hair.

He mutters, "Three years. That's enough before the curse kills" he hesitates on the word kills. "you, right?"

I shake my head, despair almost swallowing me.

I say it loudly enough so everyone in the room can hear, because I don't want to repeat it. "I only have until I'm sixteen. Right now, I'm fourteen, and since my birthday was in January, and it's nearly the end of March right now, I only have about a year and" I count quickly in my head. "nine months."

I wait for that news to sink in, and everybody asks the same question in unison.

"Isn't there a way to shorten the time?!"

All the color drains from Amane's face. He murmurs quietly, "There's one way. Luckily, even with your curse slowing you down, it's enough time. But barely. You will have to push yourself beyond your limit, work twice as hard than when you trained with Persona, and stay strong. You think you can do that?"

"I'm pushing myself beyond the limit even as we're speaking. Tell me what I need to do." I say, managing a nod. I put emphasis on the word _I_.

The room erupts in chaos, disagreements flying from all across the room, saying that they're apart of this too, that I can't just exclude them from it, that they saved my life and thus I need to repay them, and that they're going to blackmail me if I don't. The last one, obviously, came from Hotaru.

Amane waits until all talk subsides, and says, "You have to go to him. The other, unknown Dangerous Ability teacher. The teacher of Persona himself."

Imai, the older one, asks impatiently, "Who is it?"

"Tell us already," Umenomiya adds.

Amane turns towards me. "It's somebody you know, actually."

"Tell us already! Who?!" the occupants of the room screams.

"It's Yukihara Kazumi."

-End of Chapter 15-

* * *

A/N: Cliffhanger! Kind of. Anyway, hope you liked it, and review! Please! 15th chapter and nobody is reviewing! Thanks to **yuri-chan **and **DEVIlishAngel00 **for reviewing! The next chapter will be the training, I think. Again, I'm kinda winging this whole thing. It's, at the least, going to be interesting. I think more MxN moments there? Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: Tachibana-san made Gakuen Alice, and owns it. I have no rights to Gakuen Alice whatsoever.**


	16. Chapter 16: Nightmares

A/N: This will be a Natsume/ Mikan POV switching chapter, and it will switch a lot. So beware! Enjoy!

* * *

_*Recap*_

"Tell us already! Who?!" the occupants of the room screams.

"It's Yukihara Kazumi."

* * *

**Chapter 16: Nightmares**

The room is silent for a few minutes before I shatter it.

"Oji-san? He's... the... way I... can be... stronger...?" I ask, struggling to form words.

"Yes. He taught Persona when he was little, and me, a few years ago, when I needed to train. He excels in close combat, long range combat, has natural athletic ability, and has amazing control over his Alice. But," Amane says. "it's hell. Literally. Most people can last for about six months before they give. For me, it was a year and a half, breaking the record of nine months. Though, I think you can beat mine."

I manage a weak smile before everything goes black.

* * *

**Natsume's POV**

"Yes. He taught Persona when he was little, and me, a few years ago, when I needed to train. He excels in close combat, long range combat, has natural athletic ability, and has amazing control over his Alice. But," Amane says. "it's hell. Literally. Most people can last for about six months before they give. For me, it was a year and a half, breaking the record of nine months. Though, I think you can beat mine."

The girl smiles a bit, before she goes limp. I think she fell asleep, or... I check her forehead. She still has a fever. I push the dark blue and black sleeves of her uniform back, revealing a gigantic gash, and bruises of varying colors dotting her arm.

Everyone looks at her arm, and we're all shocked that she managed to stay conscious for this long. Hoping this'll work, I take off three bracelets, two necklaces, a ring, four barrettes, and finally an earring off. All her controlling devices are off, and I check her temperature and arm again. It's cooled down significantly, and about half the bruises and the gash is gone. I really wonder how her Alices managed to heal her.

I pick her up and carry her from the room, heading to the Middle School Division, to the dorms, and upstairs to her Special Star room. I open the door, and drop her lightly on the bed. She really seems peaceful, compared to when she's awake, constantly scowling and glaring.

I'm about to leave when I hear my name. "Natsume..." I pause, shocked. She hasn't called me by my name since two years ago, always referring to me as Hyuuga, usually accompanied by a scowl or a glare.

She turns over to her side, and tears start streaming down her cheeks. I run over to her, and pat her head, just like I used to, to calm her down. This seems to work, because she stops crying. She curls into a ball and screams, "Don't die!" before she relaxes.

I decide to stay at her side, just in case she has another nightmare.

But, I wonder what kind of dream she had.

* * *

**(Back to Mikan's POV)**

My dreams are horrifying. Hyuuga and I are in the AAO's headquarters, I somehow know. We're fighting back to back, and using our Alices to do whatever we can. A big lightning bolt comes racing towards my back, but I don't care. It reaches five feet, then three feet, then two feet, and it's coming too quickly for me to block or dodge. I'm shocked my Nullifying Alice didn't do anything, and it's about to hit me when Hyuuga finishes the last guard, sees the bolt, and... Jumps in the way. Just like how Dad did. He falls to the ground, lifeless, and blood is trickling out of his mouth, along with the wounds he already has.

I drop to my knees, and scream. He opens his eyes a little bit, and I say his name for the first time in two years. "Natsume..."

He smiles a little bit, and whispers, "I'm glad you called me by name, Mikan." before closing his eyes.

I scream, "DON'T DIE!"

And everything fades to black.

* * *

I gasp, waking up from the nightmare. I curl into fetal position, tears flooding my eyes and streaking my cheeks. It was so horrible. I cry quietly, thinking about the emptiness it left me. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to forget it, but the image keeps popping back up.

"No!" I scream, knowing it won't bother anyone since the room is soundproof. I keep shaking my head, trying to get it out of my head, but it's futile. The tears keep pouring down my cheeks, and I can't stop it. A hand pats my hair.

I sit upright, see Natsume in a chair, and his hand is patting my hair, comforting me. I look into his crimson eyes, and I wrap my arms around him. He's surprised, and doesn't return my hug until a few seconds later. He strokes my hair softly.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"..."

"Are you okay?" he questions.

"..."

He sighs, and just as he's about to speak again, I say quietly, "Just let me stay like this for a while. Please."

He nods slowly, still not comprehending what's going on. But he lets me stay like that for a few more minutes before I pull back.

Natsume says, "What's wrong?"

I respond softly, "I had a dream. It was a horrible, terrible, and empty dream."

"What do you mean 'empty'?" he inquires.

"I had a dream where you and I were fighting the AAO, and you saved me. Then you..." I trail off, not wanting to say it.

"Died?" he says.

I look up at him, surprised, and I nod. He looks down, thinking, and he mutters, "So that's what that was about."

I tilt my head, and ask, "What was what about?"

He shrugs. "I kinda heard your dream. You were crying, and saying stuff, so I patted your hair, and you seemed to relax after that. I didn't really get it, so I decided to stay here just in case you had another nightmare."

I hug him again, and mutter, "Thanks for that... Natsume." before I go back to sleep in exhaustion.

* * *

**Natsume's POV**

She fell asleep, while hugging me. That's amazing. She must've been extremely tired. I untangle her arms softly, not wanting to wake her, place her back on the bed, and pull the covers up over her.

I fall back into the chairs, leaning into the armrests, and sleep.

* * *

**(Back to Mikan's POV)**

It's really bright. I groan and shift, trying to go back to sleep, but it's futile. It's Sunday, so I don't have to go to school. I look to my left, and see Hyuuga, still sleeping, leaning on the armrests. I take the warm covers, and place it on him. He shifts, and I freeze, wondering if he woke up. Then he mumbles something and his breathing slows again. I sigh in relief.

I get up, and go to the bathroom to wash up. Afterwards, I go to the kitchen to make some food. I lean on the counter, wondering what I could make. Then I get out the correct ingredients.

* * *

**Natsume's POV**

A nice smell wafts from the kitchen. I get up, noticing the warm blankets, groaning, and I stretch, my back protesting. I walk towards the smell, and I see Mikan, tied into an apron. I sneak up on her and try to pull her hair(it's always down ever since she got the curse; and I think she looks more mature with it), but before I do, she says, without even looking, "Don't even think about it."

I sigh, giving up. "You're not in the Dangerous Ability class for nothing, are you?"

She says, turning around, "Of course What did you expect?"

I chuckle quietly. "I remember when you would get scared so many times, and you would always yell at me afterwards. That was way too much fun."

She scowls, hands on her hips. "I'll have you know, I'm planning my revenge for all those times." She grins wickedly. "Prepare yourself, Hyuuga."

Now it's my turn to scowl. "Why do you keep calling me that? It's really annoying."

"Whatever. Like I care," she says, placing a plate before me.

I look at it. It's waffles with little syrup, and strawberries on the side. I tilt my head, questioning. How did she...

She smiles. "You once told me your favorite fruit is strawberries, remember? And I don't think you're one for an overdose of sweet things."

I sit down, and glance at her. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"Already did, about a few minutes ago. I woke up earlier than you did. You must've been pretty exhausted."

I spear a piece of the food, and shove it in my mouth. It's not bad, actually. "Isn't that obvious? I kept on waking up from your nightmares, and had to sleep in that uncomfortable chair."

At the word nightmares, she flinches. I look at her, and she's looks shaken.

I ask, "Was it really that bad?"

She replies, "okay, it was like... It was horrible. It was an empty feeling around your heart, and it felt like I wasn't living, but not dead either. It was like despair and hopelessness pushing on all sides of you, and you couldn't even do a thing about it. It was a horrible, empty feeling."

I raise an eyebrow. The old Mikan wouldn't have said things like despair and hopelessness. She would've faked a smile, and said, "It wasn't that bad, it was just scary." It reminds me of how much she changed.

-End of Chapter 16-

* * *

A/N: I know Mikan keeps switching personalities, but it has to be this way for the story to progress. She's still going to be cold, I'm sorry to say, but she'll be like Natsume, with moments of niceness, or something like that. I'm pretty sure the next chapter's going to be training, and I think there's going to be a fight scene there. I think. Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice does not belong to me, but it does belong to Tachibana-san.**


	17. Chapter 17: Training

Note: There has been another time skip, of nearly two years, and it's exactly a month before Mikan's sixteenth birthday. Just so you know. The curse has been steadily getting worse, with her coughing out blood, collapsing, fevers, everything bad you can imagine. And that's it. Enjoy!

* * *

_*Recap*_

I raise an eyebrow. The old Mikan wouldn't have said things like despair and hopelessness. She would've faked a smile, and said, "It wasn't that bad, it was just scary." It reminds me of how much she changed.

* * *

**Chapter 17: Training**

A fist comes my way, almost too quick for me to see, but I block, catching his momentum to throw him back and smash him into a tree, or at least try to. He stops himself at the last second, and this time I run to him. I duck down, right leg sweeping the floor under him, but he jumps and he puts both hands on my leg to somersault him over and kick me in the chest on the way over, but it doesn't work. I grab his shoulders as he jumps, and I slam him into the grassy ground, hard. He's winded, and so I win this fight.

Training started the day after Hyuuga ate breakfast in my room. Oji-san called Ogasawara, Umenomiya, Imai and Imai, Andou, Harada, Nogi, Hyuuga and I into his office. We were dressed in out school uniforms, but for us girls, instead of skirts, we wore sweatpants. Oji-san then took us to the Northern Forest, to the cabin I came across so long ago, and trained us there. It turned out that the occupant of the house was a living teddy bear, made by Andou's friend, Kaname, and he excelled in combat. He became Oji-san's assistant in training us in that area. It was hell. But it's been nearly two years since it started.

Every morning, starting at five in the morning, we would run five laps around the academy, then three-hundred push-ups, 275 sit-ups, and two-hundred pull ups(using a branch), and all had to be done before an hour passed. If we didn't make it through the allotted time, then it was doing the exercises all over again at the end of the day.

After the morning exercises, we practiced controlling our Alices, with specific, different exercises.

For Imai, the younger one, she had to make a certain amount of inventions within the hour, and use them against Nogi's animals, and he had to learn how to use various animals at one time. For the older Imai, he had to take the injured at the end of the day, and heal them all in less than a minute on the first day, the time ticking down as days passed, until he had to heal us all within five seconds, expanding his range of Alice. He also had to learn to control his Pain Alice, by mentally training himself, because nobody wanted to be a volunteer for the Pain Alice. Andou had to manipulate all the shadows of Harada's dopplgangers, while she had to clone herself as fast as she could to keep herself from being caught. Umenomiya and Ogasawara trained against each other, and often with each other to get the expected, sometimes dangerous, reactions, so both of them could understand the extent of their Alice. I had to mentally strengthen myself for the first few days, training against Hyuuga, so I could learn how to keep my mind clear in battle. Sometimes, everyone would use their Alices against me while I was training with Hyuuga, and I had to nullify them all within a certain amount of time, depending on how fierce the fight was.

Hyuuga didn't do anything, after I begged Oji-san not to make him use his Alice unnecessarily, and he agreed when I told him what shape Hyuuga's Alice was. Though Hyuuga objected, and still is; I have to nullify his Alice before he can use it, and that also turned out to be pretty productive for the both of us. Hyuuga would still have to reach for his Alice, but before he let it out, I nullified it all. It wouldn't hurt him, but it would keep us both on our toes.

After the controlling our Alices came close combat. The pairings were normally this: younger Imai and Nogi; Andou and Harada; Umenomiya and Ogasawara; older Imai and either Mr. Bear or Oji-san; and finally, Hyuuga and I.

Most days, the fights ended up in a tie, on school days, with us going on until school started, and on weekends, going on until we literally dropped(unless it was for Imai and Mr. Bear or Oji-san). But if one of us did win, it was close, normally with a final blow that knocked the other out.

There were varieties to the fights we had. The first type of fight would be the one-hit rule. You land a blow on them, and you win. Another was the knock-out rule, which was exactly what it sounds like. You knock your opponent out, or wind them, and you win. Third type, my favorite, was where you kept going and try to keep upright until time ran out, ranging from five minutes to an hour, depending on who you were fighting. This was our test for the end of the day, when we used this fight against Mr. Bear or Oji-san, our testers.

After school ended, it was mental training. We had to strengthen our minds, but for a few days, none of us knew exactly how to do that. I had my training with Hyuuga and others, but they didn't have the same Alice as I did. So I suggested something. We would fight, using our Alice, for as long as we could, and afterwards do a series of exercises provided by Imai's robot. One day it would be a set of not-too-complicated-but-not-easy math problems, then it would be a reading test, then it would be decoding various codes within a certain amount of time. We finally stuck with the codes, because who knows, maybe we might actually need it someday.

Just now, I finished the knock-out fight, where I winded Hyuuga. It wasn't easy to win against him, and I could say the same of him vice-versa. We all were rapidly getting stronger, not just Hyuuga and I; but everybody, though I felt frustrated, it wasn't fast enough.

I give Hyuuga a hand, and he reluctantly takes it, standing up. We nod, a silent confirmation for the extra training at midnight, and we all gather around Oji-san and Mr. Bear, where we have our last training of the morning.

We have to fight against Mr. Bear or Oji-san and we have three choices: one, win, which is not likely, two, stay conscious, which everybody can do by now, or three, get defeated. There's a ref for these fights, who decides what the result of the fight is. The ref is the other teacher, who's not participating in the fight, and that is the case for right now.

I'm up first. Then would come Hyuuga, Imai, Nogi, older Imai, Andou, Harada, Umenomiya, and finally, Ogasawara.

Mr. Bear takes his stance, and so do I. The fight is going to be three minutes long. Mr. Bear runs towards me, a murderous glint in his eye, and sends me a straight punch. I dodge and send him a kick in return. He jumps back, and I jump too, bracing my body on my hands, somersaulting over him, stopping him in his tracks. He spins around, a deadly right hook sailing towards me. I duck under, and with Mr. Bear's left foot, he tries to kick me in the shin, but I grab it the last minute, and it knocks him off balance. He kicks my hand, and I let go quickly, already feeling the bruise. We jump back and take our stances once again. Oji-san calls out, "One and half minute left."

We rush towards each other, mutually sharing the feeling we should have a clear winner this time. Mr. Bear sends me a straight punch towards the jaw, but I brush by it, missing it by inches.

"One minute."

I dart around him, positioning him so the sun's directly in his eyes. He squints, and there is his moment of weakness. He falters, stepping back, and into my ready arms. I squeeze him tight, picking him up, and I whisper in his ear, knowing he can hear me. "I win."

He nods shortly, and I let him go. He reaches his hand out to me, and I shake it, feeling victorious.

Only then do I realize, within a span of three minutes, I won against him. Apparently, everybody notices this too, and it is dead silent. Just as I start to feel triumphant, my vision washes over in black, and I double over, collapsing to my knees, one hand bracing the ground, the other trying futilely to stop the coughing the curse has caused. When I start thinking it can't get any worse than this, an overwhelming pain etches itself into my back. I can feel other cuts appearing in various places, but the cut on my back hurts so much it makes everything else go numb. I hear a piercing scream, and my voice goes hoarse. Then I realize the scream was mine.

The ground spins, and I'm disoriented, unable to tell up from down. I hear footsteps, but I can't see whoever it is, even though I look up. The pain reaches the limit of what I can take, mentally and physically, and I fall to the ground. I cry out again, and I close my eyes, wanting to escape from the pain. My wish is granted, and just before I fall into the realm of unconsciousness, I hear a yell.

"Mikan! Mik-"

Everything goes black.

-End of Chapter 17-

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it, and I think I'm getting better at these fight scenes. Thanks to **kuro neko 12**, **love Nat and Mi**, and **Brisken **for following. Thank you, you guys! Please review! I am dying here, and I really want more people to read my story. To achieve that, I need reviews! I am nearing 1000 views, but sadly no reviews. It makes me feel as though you don't care enough to review! Please do so! Next chapter will switch POV's like last chapter did(but not as much switching), and I'm really sorry about that. Hopefully you guys won't and didn't get confused with the POV switching. Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters. This plot is entirely created by my weird imagination, and Gakuen Alice itself belongs to Tachibana-san, and the characters also.**


	18. Chapter 18: Mission Details

_*Recap*_

The ground spins, and I'm disoriented, unable to tell up from down. I hear footsteps, but I can't see whoever it is, even though I look up. The pain reaches the limit of what I can take, mentally and physically, and I fall to the ground. I cry out again, and I close my eyes, wanting to escape from the pain. My wish is granted, and just before I fall into the realm of unconsciousness, I hear a yell.

"Mikan! Mik-"

Everything goes black.

* * *

**Chapter 18: Mission Details**

She actually won against Mr. Bear. Even though she's meters away, I see her triumphant look for a split second before she doubles over and starts coughing about blood. She falls, landing on her knees and a hand, the other attempting to stop the coughing, but failing miserably. I rush towards her, and she screams in pain, so loudly her voice goes hoarse, as her back sags. She cries out once more, and I yell her name. She looks up, but doesn't seem to see me. I yell her name once more, and she collapses on the ground.

I finally reach her, and she convulses as I reach my hand out to her to try and soothe her. Just as I make contact with her, her back actually, my fingertips touch something wet and sticky, and I pull my hand back. My hand's covered in her blood. Everybody comes up beside me, and after they see the blood on my hands, their faces rearrange in a mixture of horror, fear, and disbelief. It's never been this bad before.

Without a word, Imai comes up and starts healing her, as much as his Alice allows. He retreats his hand, frustrated, as the majority of the injuries are caused by the curse. Mikan's uncle comes up, and a wordless conversation is exchanged between Imai and him. Imai picks her up gently, as she's pale and shivering, and gets out the first-aid kit to treat her.

The group disperses to go to their dorms, knowing they'll just be a bother if they stayed, but I hesitate for a second before I leave. My mind made up, I walk in the opposite direction of my dorm to go to his room. Persona's. I have to check something.

* * *

I barge into his room without any warning. Persona continues his work, unfazed. He asks, "What is it, Kuro Neko?"

I reply, getting straight to the point. "Does Mikan have any missions today?"

He looks up, surprised. "Yes, actually. Why?"

I demand, "Let me go instead. She's injured from her, you know, and she's in no condition to go to this mission, whatever it is."

"No, no, no. I cannot allow that, although her injuries are a problem..." he mutters.

I bark, "Why not? You might as well be murdering her yourself if you send her alone like this. Your favorite student will get killed, is that okay?"

He says, "Alone, yes, surely she will be killed."

I snarl, "So let me go instead!"

He continues, "Yes, she will be killed if she goes alone. Do you see my point her, Kuro Neko?"

I smirk. So Persona does care.

"So I'll go with her?"

"Yes. I'll send the information to your dorms soon. It's nice to be working with you again, Kuro Neko," he says, allowing himself a small smile.

I head for the door, satisfied. Before I step out of the room, his voice rings out. "I will be telling her you will go with. It's going to be amusing, I believe."

I chuckle, imagining her reaction.

* * *

**Mikan's POV**

My dreams are hazy and unclear. I see images, but they don't make sense. I see Persona handing me a mask, not unlike the ones I use for missions. I see Nogi and younger Imai arguing. I see myself reflected in a mirror, wearing a dress, but I can't get a close look at it because the next image pops up. I see Hyuuga coughing hard. Finally, I see an image that scares the crap out of me. Everybody's on the ground, either unconscious or writhing in pain. The last one to fall is Hyuuga, and I meet his eyes before he collapses to the ground, and Luna's in the background, and I know she's laughing, even though I don't hear anything. I feel myself rushing towards her, and fear flashes in her cold blue eyes, and I know it's because of me. Then everything, once again, goes black.

* * *

I gasp and sit up, then regret doing so. My back protests, and I groan in agony. I feel bandages all around my body, and I am wearing a loose sweatshirt with sweatpants. The older Imai's there, gently pushing me back down on the bed. He says, "Don't be rash. Your wound's still not healed, and you're expected to go on a mission in about four hours."

Anger is his in eyes, and I distract him by saying, "How long was I unconscious?"

He replies, "About ten hours."

I grimace, and I try to sit up, only to be stopped by Imai once again. "Persona's outside waiting for you. He's here to give you the mission's details."

I frown, knowing that Persona wouldn't come here personally unless it was something important. "Wait," I say. "Before you go, tell me first. What happened to the others, and where is this?"

He responds quickly. "You're in the infirmary, and everyone left as I was treating you. They've been in school, and they're in the clearing, training."

He gets up to leave.

"Thank you... Subaru-san," I say, hesitating to say his name. His eyes widens, but he regains his cool demeanor, and walks out of the room. Persona comes in.

"Well, well, Sakura Hime. You seem to be doing well," he chuckles, sitting in the chair beside me. He hands me a brown envelope. I open it quickly and I read through it. It says:

_Mission # 89_

_Where: At Shiki Masachika's mansion_

_Purpose: You will retrieve an important document. Masachika is holding a ball at his mansion, and you are to infiltrate as one of the guests. _

_Time: Leaving at 8:00 PM, and posing as a guest until further notice._

_Additional Information: This is a masquerade ball. Proper etiquette is required. Hyuuga Natsume will be joining you. Information on the guest you are posing as is also in the envelope. _

My eyes widen. I reread the sentence again. _Hyuuga Natsume will be joining you... _I look up, furious. "Hyuuga Natsume will be joining you?! What the hell is this about?!"

Persona chuckles, amused. He says calmly, "It's what you said. Kuro Neko will be joining you."

I snarl, "Why, Persona? Are you going back on your deal? I clearly said you can't use Hyuuga for missions anymore."

He clucks, "Eh, eh, eh. You forgot one thing. Involuntarily, you wanted? Not voluntarily. He can go on missions if he volunteers, right?"

I sputter, "I meant it both ways! Why did you make him go on the missions?! I am your favorite student, right? So have some confidence in me, at least! This will hurt my pride!"

His face turns serious. "Even with those special training lessons from your uncle," I gasp, wondering how he knew about that. "it still won't be enough. In case you haven't noticed, you have a enormous gash on your back that doesn't seem to be healing any time soon, and it's because you're my favorite student that I won't let you go alone. For the last comment, I couldn't care less for your pride, seeing as you seem to have plenty of it."

I open my mouth to say something, and he interrupts me. "Before you say anything, term number 2 was that you wouldn't complain, right? So you break one, I break one. It's only fair. Right, Sakura Hime?"

I shut my mouth, and he chuckles. He gets up to leave, and he says, "The dress and mask will be sent to you. I assume your pride would've made you learn proper etiquette, correct? Last thing. You two will be leaving at different times, and won't be allowed to see each other until it's time to the actual mission. The dress was pre-made, and if you press a button under your mask, it will retreat into your normal mission clothes. Any last questions?"

I shake my head. He smirks, and leans over to pat my head. I glance up at him, tilting my head in confusion. He pulls his hand back, and whispers, "Be careful. Your dad would kill me if I let you die." before he leaves.

My eyebrows arch, amused. Persona has someone he's actually scared of. I smile to myself, and head for my room for a shower.

-End of Chapter 18-

* * *

A/N: The next chapter is definitely going to be my favorite. The masquerade ball... It's going to be interesting. For those of you who love Shiki, he's going to be in the next chapter, or the one after that. Look forward to it! Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice in any way, and it belongs to Tachibana-san.**


	19. Chapter 19: The Masquerade Ball

Note: The bandages she had were taken off when she stepped into the shower. She used her Nullifying Alice to keep all effects of the curse back,(after she puts on the dress) and it will last for about 4 hours. That's all. Enjoy!

* * *

_*Recap*_

I shake my head. He smirks, and leans over to pat my head. I glance up at him, tilting my head in confusion. He pulls his hand back, and whispers, "Be careful. Your dad would kill me if I let you die." before he leaves.

My eyebrows arch, amused. Persona has someone he's actually scared of. I smile to myself, and head for my room for a shower.

* * *

**Chapter 19: Masquerade Ball**

I step out of the shower, and into my room, looking around. There it is. I walk over to the large brown box, that probably holds my mission's clothes. I rip the package open, and I pick up its contents gently. It's absolutely beautiful, amazing, and my breath is taken away by it. This is what I'm wearing?

A mask tumbles out, and I inspect it. A silver mask, adorned with gold trimmings on the edges, intricate patterns swirling around the mask. It's small, and I flip it over. As Persona said, there is a button. I decide not to press it, not daring to risk pushing it now.

I turn my gaze back to the dress. It lies on the floor, almost like it's waiting for me to put it on. I inspect it. Its bodice is shimmering, thin layers of black on the inside, colors lightening up to the outside, where it turns into an alluring shade of deep purple. On the back, there's a purple bow, where my other mask is hidden. The dress is simple, the two straps crossing over my upper chest to hold it up, and delicate lines flowing over the dress.

I look inside the package again. In the bottom, a pair of dainty silver flats awaits. It's a dulled silver with a single pink rose on each shoe, but it's still as beautiful as the other parts of the package.

I put all of it on(except for the mask), and I look at myself in the mirror. The dress is lovely, falling to my knees, but the person wearing it is not. My hair is still wet, water dripping from the waist length ends, and I have no idea what to do with it. I decide to go to Umenomiya for help. Hopefully, she'll accept.

* * *

I take a deep breath, and knock on the door. Luckily, on my way here, I didn't see Hyuuga. The door opens to reveal a surprised Umenomiya. She takes in my figure, and ushers me in. I step inside, and look around her Single Star room. It's considerably smaller than mine, but I don't comment on it. She snatches a towel from her bathroom, and she directs me towards a vanity table, where countless of make-up appliances lie. She stands over me, and towels my hair. She asks, "You're going to a ball, right?"

I nod, not saying anything about the mission.

She says, "What kind of ball is it?"

I reply, "A masquerade."

She squeals, "I love those! Okay, I know exactly what hairstyle to put you in. How long do I have?"

I look at the clock. It reads 6:20. "An hour and a half."

She shakes her head. "No, no, no. That'll never be enough time! I'll have to call them too."

My eyes widen. Exactly how long does it take to prepare for a ball?!

Umenomiya, Ogasawara, and Imai are all busy. Umenomiya's doing my hair, Ogasawara doing make-up, and Imai's filing my nails. I now understand the meaning of the word torture. I look at the clock again, and my eyes widen. It's now 7:40, and I have to be there by 8. Hyuuga's most likely already there! Just as panic washes over me, they all exclaim in unison, "Done!"

I look at the mirror, my eyes widening in shock. The girl in front of me, the graceful, elegant, poised, beautiful girl, is not me. Her hair falls over her shoulders in ringlets, a portion of her hair tied back with a shimmering, sapphire clip. Her lips are glossed lightly, her high cheekbones a pink, rosy color, her eyelashes long, but not overly so. Ogasawara steers me to a bigger mirror, and I see everything. I move my lips, and the girl in the mirror does too. I turn around and hug every one of them. They're all surprised, but they hug me back. I step backwards, saying, "Thank you so much, Anna-chan, Nonoko-chan, and Hotaru." Then I flee the room.

* * *

I step into the car, and Persona's there, waiting for me. "Not bad, Sakura Hime. I can truthfully say that you can deserve the title."

I smile faintly, and we go on our way.

Just as I'm about to open the door, I hear, "The mask also has a transmitter. It can be heard by only you. It'll tell you when to retrieve it. Until then, have fun."

I nod, letting out a huge smile to show to him. "Thank you, Persona."

I walk in.

* * *

**Natsume's POV**

I stand at the edges of the ballroom, bored. I never thought a ball could be this boring. A lot of girls asked me to dance, but I politely refused. I don't think Mikan's gotten here yet. Just as I think that, the whole entire ballroom sucks in their breath. Everything stopped moving. Time freaking stopped.

As I'm wondering what the hell is going on, I see what everybody's been looking at. A beautiful girl walks in, and even her walk is graceful. It's like she's gliding. Who is this person?

* * *

**(Back to Mikan's POV)**

When I walk in, everybody stops moving. It was freaky. I'm tempted to glance behind me, but I know nobody's there. I walk down the steps, and as I reach the last step, about half the boys mob me, asking me to dance. I refuse them all politely, thinking, _'I know none of them is Hyuuga, now.' _

As I make my way towards the food table, the rest of the boys ask me to dance. I look around, trying to find escape, when I hear, "This way."

I refuse them all, again, and follow the boy's voice. He leads me outside, on the porch, and I shiver, feeling the cold, frigid air of December. I see the boy now, and he watches me warily. I see intense, crimson eyes, and I know that it is Hyuuga. But remembering that I'm supposed to stay unknown to him, I beam at him. I say, "Thank you so much. I was about to die in there!"

He nods, and I start to wonder if I had overdone it, when he asks me, "Who are you?"

I sigh in relief. Then I wag my finger at him, my tone playful. "No, no, no. Don't you know it's not polite to ask for somebody in a mask for their identity?"

He says, "Would you like to dance, then?"

I smile widely at him, and reply, "Sure!"

Just then, a slow song starts to play. We get into position, and he leads me. I honestly have to say, I never expected him to dance this well. A crowd gathers at the window, watching us dance. They murmur to each other, and I catch things like _perfect couple_ and _beautiful_.

I whisper to him, "They're watching."

He smirks, and responds, "Then shall we give them a show?"

I grin at him, and nod.

We start to waltz like pros, and as he twirls me around and back in again, I twirl an extra step, and his face is inches away from mine. I mouth, "Follow."

He understands immediately, and we start getting closer and closer, getting tauntingly close enough to kiss, and gracefully stepping back again. I can almost feel the crowds' disappointment, joy, then disappointment again. Once, after a twirl, he reaches up and takes out my clip. I roll my eyes, and he raises an eyebrow in return. Two can play at this game. I take my hand from his shoulders, and wind it around his neck. As his back faces the crowd, I reach around his neck, and before he can react, pluck his mask from his face. He's shocked. To shock him even further, his back still facing the crowd, I kiss him quickly on his cheek, and place his mask back on his face. I wrap both arms around him, and I whisper, "Impressed?"

I step back, returning to our original position. I smile and blink innocently. He rolls his eyes, and we continue, taunting the crowd.

As the song ends, he bows, returning my clip discreetly, and I curtsy neatly in return, taking it. My face is flushed from excitement and cold, and so is his. I say, "Thank you for the dance."He replies, "Thank you for saving me from boredom."

We exchange quick grins, sharing a secret. Then, my mask says, "Now."

He steps back from me, and says, "I have to go now. Thanks."

I curtsy again, this time more deeply, and as he leaves, the crowd does too. I step inside and turning into a hallway, and I step into an empty room. I quickly press the button, and the layers of the dress unfold, the lines rearranging themselves into my mission clothes. I take off my mask, and reach behind my bow to get my mask. I quickly place it in the bow again, and the bow retracts, folding itself into my sleeves. I take my clip and stuff it into my pocket, and pull out a black hair tie. Hastily, I tie my hair up into a high ponytail.

I open the door and step into the hallway, twisting and turning every once in a while. I know the route I'm supposed to take, and I follow the remembered route, quick steps echoing in the hallways.

I turn left, and open the first door on my right. A huge room is revealed, almost as large as the ballroom, and Hyuuga is fighting half the people in the room at once. I call out to him, "At least leave some for me."

He turns around, smirks at me, then replies, punching a guard squarely in the jaw. "If you can handle them."

I roll my eyes, kicking a guard in the shin. He falls over, and I pick him up, and slam him in the wall. He's out cold. About fifty people are knocked out now, and there's only about ninety more to go. But I'm not sure if they're going to have Alices or not.

I say arrogantly, "I'll have you know this morning, I happened to beat you and Mr. Bear. Guess who didn't? You!"

I block a punch, dart around a guard and take ahold of his jacket, take the hair of another guard, and I smash their heads together, knocking the both of them out.

The rest of the guards have Alices, in fact; about seventy people in the room. They all use their Alices at once, and before Hyuuga can do anything, I nullify all the Alices, and Hyuuga growls. "I left some for you, now do the same for me."

I shake my head, adamant. "No way, you are not risking your life for something I can take care of by myself."

I spin around, sending a roundhouse kick to a guard's face, and he flies across the room, accidentally kicking the majority of the guards' faces, and knocks them unconscious. The guard lands on the wall, and slides down, knocked out also. Ten more guards left.

Then comes a surprise. The ten guards flee into a room, and Hyuuga and I pause, wondering if we should go after them or conserve our strength. The guards come out, all carrying guns. They look grim and determined, and I can tell we kind of forced them to shoot at children, something even the AAO would hesitate to do.

They all shoot at once, and Hyuuga and I dodge, feeling lucky we trained with guns also, learning how to dodge bullets. Suddenly, the curse affects Hyuuga, and he doubles over, coughing out blood. The bullets still come our way, but I'm busy dealing with eight guards. The remaining two guards see this as a weakness, and shoot at Hyuuga. In their haste, they shoot, but one misses, and the other... Reaches him.

I turn just in time to see the bullet hit Hyuuga. I don't exactly know where, but all I'm thinking is, _'Don't you dare die on me, Hyuuga.'_ Tears blur my vision, and the last guard left fires at me. I can see enough to dodge, but it still hits me in the shoulder. A searing pain erupts in my shoulder, and at that moment, the work my Nullifying Alice has done to keep the gash back, rebounds and hits me full force. The other cuts come shortly after. But the good thing is, I can still fight.

I kick the last guard in the stomach, and elbow him in the neck. It wasn't hard, but it's enough to knock him unconscious too.

I run over to Hyuuga, willing myself to go faster. I finally reach him, and I drop to my knees. All I can think about is how alike this is to my dream, and how I won't lose him. I scream, and he opens his eyes a little bit. I can't see where the wound is because of all my tears, but I say, "Natsume..."

He smirks a bit, blood trickling out of his mouth, and manages to say, "I'm glad you said my name."

Then he blacks out.

I know I don't have much time left before I black out too, so I wipe away my tears and manage to find the document in a desk. I throw it at Natsume's direction, and it lands on him. I still have some power left, so I use the remainder of what I have left to teleport him away to Persona's room, and then I black out.

-End of Chapter 19-

* * *

A/N: That was long! 2,000 words. Oh my god. Naturally, since Mikan's in Shiki's mansion, can you guess what'll happen next? Look forward to it! Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice, but Tachibana-san does. This story only is made up of my own twisted imagination.**


	20. Chapter 20: Masachika Shiki

_*Recap*_

I know I don't have much time left before I black out too, so I wipe away my tears and manage to find the document in a desk. I throw it at Natsume's direction, and it lands on him. I still have some power left, so I use the remainder of what I have left to teleport him away to Persona's room, and then I black out.

* * *

**Chapter 20: Masachika Shiki**

**Natsume's POV**

I groan, as I wake up. The events of last night comes back to me, and I sit upright, then groan some more, feeling the throbbing pain of where the bullet was in my stomach. I ask, "Where's Mikan?"

The person who's sitting next to my chair, Persona, replies, "I don't know; why don't you tell me?"

I snap my eyes fully open, and I say, "What do you mean?"

Persona sighs. "I mean, the small fact regarding you arriving at my room, late last night, all bloody with the document on top of you? And the fact Sakura Hime wasn't there with you, is what I mean."

My eyes widen slightly. She didn't... That idiot. She must've... "She's probably still at the mansion. Why did the girl do that?! She could've left me and gone by herself..."

Persona says, "Calm it. What do you mean 'she's probably still at the mansion'?"

I explain. "She got hit by a bullet in her arm, I think, and then her Nullifying Alice that kept the curse back, it all rebounded on her. She still fought, though. After that, I blacked out, but she probably took the document, threw it on me, teleported me here, and left herself at the mansion."

Persona chuckles, and shakes his head. I demand, "What's so funny about leaving a powerless, bloody girl at an enemy's mansion?!"

He clucks, "No. Wrong. It is not an enemy's mansion. It's her mom's friend's mansion."

I snarl, "Explain, Persona."

He says, "Azumi Yuka, or Yukihira Yuka, was once a talented agent of the AAO, and joined for her own reasons. She was with Shiki Masachika, and she was still with the AAO until she died. Shiki's her good friend, and he wouldn't harm Mikan."

I snap, "Then why did you send us to get the documents and why did we have to actually fight if he knew Mikan?"

Persona responds, "Well, you can't just give an important document to the enemy, do you? Before you say anything, remember Shiki is an important spy to our academy. It's vital he doesn't get found out. So, yes, you did have to fight him to retrieve the document to hide his identity."

I slump down in the bed. "So when are we going to get her back?"

Persona smirks. "That's up to Shiki."

* * *

**Mikan's POV**

"Wake up, Mikan. Wake up," I hear, a hand shaking my hand gently.

I shuffle, and say, still half asleep, "Five more minutes, Persona."

The person chuckles lightly, and I snap my eyes open. I see a handsome man with fair hair, long bangs nearly covering his eyes, with a tall figure, sitting in the chair beside me. I don't know why, but he strikes me as familiar. I feel like I've seen him somewhere, but I don't remember exactly where. He says, "Sorry, but I'm not Persona. I'm Shiki Masachika, remember me?"

I sit upright, ignoring the pain in my shoulder and back, glaring at him. I remember his name, at least from the envelope. I spit at him, "You're part of the AAO. What do you want with me?"

He sighs. "You don't seem to remember me. But really, you're just like your mother, though I remember when you were like your father."

I snarl, "Who are you? Am I supposed to know you? If so, sorry to disappoint."

He replies, unfazed. "I'm Shiki, your mother's friend. I met you when you were five, remember, Mikan?"

_A hazy scene plays in front of me. I'm playing in our garden with Hyuuga. All of a sudden, I'm called by my mom. A man is standing next to her, a soft expression in his eyes. Seeing this, I beam at him. Then I struggle to keep my face serious as I hold out my small hand, following the example of the many adults of I've seen._

_His face is amused as he enfolds his large hand into my small one. He shakes it firmly, and he says, "My name is Shiki. Nice to meet you, Mikan."_

I blink, and the scene disappears into the guest room of the mansion. I whisper, "Shiki-san."

He allows a little smile to appear. "So you do remember."

I say, "I'm sorry. I was kind of trained to respond like that by Persona."

He replies, "Never mind it. But the issue on when you're going back..."

I ask, "About that, when am I going back?"

He hesitates before he responds. "First thing, you are not going back until your wound has completely healed. Seco-"

I cut him off. "If you're talking about the wound on my back, it's not going away so easily. And there's a problem. I have to train; there's no other way around it. I have to. So, please, Shiki-san, let me go back."

"Why won't it go away? And for training, just train with me. By the way you fought those trained guards, you're training with Kazumi?" he remarks.

"Yeah, but I need to train. It has something to do with why the cut on my back won't go away."

He raises an eyebrow, indicating for me to continue. I say, "See, when my mom died, she died of a curse. I happen to have a curse also, and the cut is only a small factor of it. I have to train to beat the curse, generally speaking, and to do that, I train with Oji-san. So please, let me go back to the Academy."

He says, "Then I have a simple solution. Train with me. I'll have you know, I trained with Kazumi myself, and since I am with the AAO, and have more experience than he does, I can teach you a lot more."

I mumble, "I know you're my mom's friend and all, but if you're with the AAO, then why are you helping me?"

He replies, "I'm a spy, you could say. Your mother was also one. She never told you?"

Now that I think about it, I remember her coming home late at night, looking exhausted and occasionally with injuries. I would rush up to her, and ask her what was wrong, but she would only give me a tired smile, and say, "Later, I'll explain it all."

I stopped asking after that.

"She did mention something like that," I say. "So on a scale of one to ten, what would you rate yourself in fighting?"

He smirks. "With ten being the highest? Twenty-five."

My eyes widen. I asked Oji-san the same question a few weeks ago, and he replied twenty-three. I guess Shiki-san is very confident with his abilities. Only one way to find out.

-End of Chapter 20-

* * *

A/N: There's your Shiki. I think soon, I'll be introducing Youichi, Tono, and Yuu. Yuu I'm not so sure on how I'll introduce, but the others... Anyway, hope you liked the story, and review, favorite, follow, etc. Next chapter's going to have lots of fighting. I'm not sure it'll be overwhelmingly awesome, but hopefully it's not going to be horrible either. Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: Tachibana-san owns Gakuen Alice. I have no part in it, whatsoever, but only this story is of my own creation.**


	21. Chapter 21: The Purpose of Fighting

_*Recap*_

He smirks. "With ten being the highest? Twenty-five."

My eyes widen. I asked Oji-san the same question a few weeks ago, and he replied twenty-three. I guess Shiki-san is very confident with his abilities. Only one way to find out.

* * *

**Chapter 21: The Purpose of Fighting**

I pant, breathing heavily in the big training room in the basement of the mansion. Shiki wasn't kidding. He's a demon. As I think this, he goads me on. "Is that all you really got? After learning for nearly two years under Kazumi? You're still inexperienced."

I rush at him, a right hook poised and ready to hit, but ever since I've trained under Shiki, I learned so much more. As the hook nears his face, my left fist is also ready, an uppercut just waiting to strike. He jumps out of the way of both, and I involuntarily snarl. He's so good. I'm honestly dying to hit him, just once.

Sweat beads down my forehead, and into my eyes, and he sees this as a weakness, using the moment where I can't see clearly to knee me in the stomach. I pretend to be winded, and he smirks. Then I do too, grabbing his knee, still lodged in my stomach, and raising my foot, twist it under his ankle to knock him off balance. He squirms away, and I grimace. He smiles a little. "New technique?"

I grin, and we start again. This time, I rush towards him, and at the last minute, skid to a stop, surprising him, and he takes an faltering step unconsciously. I leap, and reach for his left arm, knowing it to be weaker than his right. I twist it behind his back, intending him to throw him over and to the ground, but he breaks free at the last minute and it's only partially effective. "I see," he says.

He flips over, and kicks me in the chin. I grab his foot, and throw him to the nearest wall. He somersaults in mid-air, and jumps vertically towards me. He lands a series of blows all over my body, and I manage to block only half of them, knowing I'll have bruises again tonight. I scowl, unsatisfied.

We get into our stances, and this time, he rushes towards me. I look with a clear eye, trying to see any weaknesses, simply in the way he runs. I see none, but I can see enough to predict his next move. He jabs, and I block with my left forearm. I raise my right hand, grab my left arm with it, and aim to elbow him in the face, with double the force. He dodges, and catches my arm. He throws me across the room, but I land on the balls of my feet, agile and nimble as a cat.

In the two days I've spent with Shiki, I learned so much more than I feel I would if I was training with Oji-san. I hate to admit it, but he's good. So far, I've never landed a blow on him once. Every time I tried, he would dance out of the way, or dodge, or block. It was absolutely infuriating. But it served as experience, learning from my mistakes. He taught me to be more agile, more flexible, and to learn techniques quickly and even make some of my own.

Shiki's voice breaks my thoughts. "That's all for today. I think you've learned all I can teach you. You're going back tomorrow."

I snap my head up at this, and tilt my head, confused. I didn't even hurt him once! How can he say that I've learned all he can teach me?

He says, "You're getting close to beating me. If you want, we can have another match tomorrow morning before you go. Sound fair?"

I nod my head, but hesitantly ask, "What do you mean, I'm getting close to beating you? You always figure out my techniques before I can use them, I've never hurt you once, and after every single session, I go with bruises dotting my entire body. How can you say that's close to beating somebody?"

"Just think about it. The problem is with you, you do look upon your mistakes, but never replay the fight itself to see commonalities or the mistakes your opponent made to use it against them."

Frustrated, I say, "But that's the thing. You never have one way of fighting. You always change it."

He shakes his head, and replies, "No, no. Everybody has their way of fighting, no matter what the technique itself is. Whether you change from karate, to boxing, or anything really, you are still yourself, and everybody has a certain style of fighting that sticks to them. Kind of like how if you cut your hair, or style it in different ways, it's still your hair. That itself, will never change."

I stand there, dumbfounded. He says, "One last thing. Ask yourself, why do you fight? Keep that in your mind, and remember it while you're fighting. It will remind you of the purpose you have, or the goal you are trying to reach. Otherwise, there's no point in fighting, and you can't use all the determination you have to fuel your efforts."

He spins on his heel, and walks away, heading upstairs to his room for a shower. I stand there for a minute, contemplating on what he said. I train for a few hours more, wanting to see how the next fight's going to turn out, with his words still reverberating through my head.

* * *

We both take our stances. Shiki says, "Are you ready?"

I nod shortly, and he rushes towards me without any warning. I remember his words from last night, and I know what my purpose is. His knee comes towards my chest, and I block it, almost without thinking. My purpose...

I twist his knee, and he flips over, losing his balance. My purpose is...

He jumps up quickly, sweeping the floor below me, and I jump onto my hands, somersaulting over him, and actually, for the first time, landing blows on him, as I twist myself with his shoulders as base. My purpose is to...

He attempts to grab my hands, but I'm already off before he can touch them. He spins around, a roundhouse kick flying through the air, and I dodge it and grab it before it can hit my head, and I smirk. To protect the ones I love...

I slam his foot on the ground, and he dances away. He grins. "I see you remember what I told you," he says.

I leap towards him, and he rushes also to meet me. We both land blows on each other, and we land on our toes, backs facing each others'. I stand up quickly, beaming, and turn to face him. He's sitting down, hands bracing his weight, with legs folded, and he pants, grinning a little. "Remember this. It might just save your life."

-End of Chapter 21-

* * *

A/N: I'm getting better at these fights, if do say so myself. I hope you liked the fight scene, and review! Please! I'm getting reviews, but they're mostly only from one person(**Brisken**). I really need varying opinions! So give me them! Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: This plot only, belongs to me, but Gakuen Alice itself belongs to Tachibana-san.**


	22. Chapter 22: Progress

_*Recap*_

I leap towards him, and he rushes also to meet me. We both land blows on each other, and we land on our toes, backs facing each others'. I stand up quickly, beaming, and turn to face him. He's sitting down, hands bracing his weight, with legs folded, and he pants, grinning a little. "Remember this. It might just save your life."

* * *

**Chapter 22: Progress**

It's been two days since I woke up, and she's still not back. As I think of Mikan, I keep remembering the days she kissed me. I honestly don't know how I feel about her, and I don't know how she feels about me too. I seem to be a lot of things to her; an enemy, friend, someone important to her, training partner, and maybe even someone she loves. I don't know.

I also think about the girl at the masquerade ball. I'm still wondering exactly who she is. I received a last minute e-mail from Persona regarding Mikan, and it said that she couldn't join the ball due to certain circumstances. I've never known Persona to be a person who lies. Keeps things hidden, yes, but lying, no. Though when I think of the girl and Mikan, how alike they are in personality among other things, I start doubting Persona.

Just as I think this, Persona himself comes in the door of my homeroom. Narumi, my annoying homeroom teacher, looks up, and says, "Yes?"

Persona replies, "I need Hyuuga Natsume."

Everyone stares at me, and I stare back, challenging them to look again. They all quickly look away, and Narumi indicates I should go. I stand up, walking over to Persona and shutting the door. We start walking to his room. I say bluntly, "Was that e-mail a lie?"

He asks, "What e-mail?"

I reply, "The e-mail that said Mikan wouldn't be coming to the ball itself, but would still participate in the mission?"

He ignores the question and says, "Ah, here we are."

He opens the door to his room, and Mikan is there, tapping her foot impatiently. Persona says, "Try and figure it out yourself."

I glare at him. Why can't he just answer the question? I turn my gaze over to Mikan, and she seems unharmed. She's wearing a black tank top with jeans, combat boots, with her long hair pulled back in a high ponytail. I say, "You're back."

She glances at me, and says, "Yeah. Have fun at the ball?"

I narrow my eyes at her in suspicion. I turn my attention to Persona. "What do you want with us?"

He replies, "It's not me who wants you. It's the HSP."

Mikan tilts her head, wondering. Then she glances at the calendar, which dates December 24. I say, "You didn't realize it was Eve today?"

She admits, "No. I was too busy training with Shiki-san to realize it."

I raise an eyebrow. Exactly how hard were they training to make her forget the date, much less Christmas Eve? Just as the thought pops up, Mikan's uncle comes in, along with our training group. The pink and blue one says in unison, "Hi, Mikan-chan!" and Imai adds, "Hey, dummy."

I roll my eyes, unsurprised, but something happens that does. "Hi... Nonoko-chan, Anna-chan, Hotaru," Mikan tentatively says.

Our eyes widen, except for the three geeky sisters. They smile a little, their eyes gentle.

Older Imai's eyes soften, and it appears everybody except for Ruka, Andou, and Harada have all been called by their names. (Me also, but the others don't seem to realize, seeing as she never called me by name in public.)

Apparently, they notice this too. While Ruka just looks discouraged, Andou exclaims, "Only us? Jeez, kouhai, I didn't know you hated us so much," and Harada smacks his arm, though doing so half-heartedly. I smirk, knowing they don't know that I was the first to be called by name.

Mikan grins, and I can almost see what's going to happen next. Let's see if Shadow falls for it. "Now, now, Tsubasa-senpai, I have called you by name before," she says.

Shadow replies, "No you haven't! If you did, I'd think I'd rememb-" he breaks off, realizing what just happened. The rest of them crack up, while Imai and I just smirk.

Harada says, "What about me, Mikan-chan? And Nogi?"

Her grin becomes even wider, and I know she's going for a two-for-one. She hides her grin(with only the inventor freak and me seeing it), and says seriously, "Nogi and you aren't getting called by names until I see fit to do so." Their eyes lose their excitement, and seeing this, she adds, "Well, something like that, Ruka-pyon and Misaki-senpai."

Everybody all howls, while the two of them stand dumbfounded at what they just heard. I chuckle, and I say, "That's everybody."

Mikan says, "Not you, Hyuuga."

I raise an eyebrow. So she's not planning to tell them. I smirk, and she mouths, shooting a piercing glare at me, "Don't even think about it."

Shadow pats me on the back, sympathetic. I glare at him, daring him to say something, and he's stupid enough to do so. "Well, you'll get there someday," he whispers, chuckling.

I discreetly raise my index finger, directing the fire to one of his sleeves. It catches, but he doesn't seem to notice. Only when I smirk, does he sense something's wrong. He feels the heat on his sleeve, and jumps. He rolls on the floor like a rabid dog, and everybody works hard to try and stifle their laughs. Some do, and others fail miserably. Eventually Harada gets a bucket of water, and pours all of it on him. He sits up, dripping wet, causing all of them to collapse to the floor with laughter.

I smirk, and Mikan allows herself a little smile. She glances at me, and I walk over to her, taking her by the arm. Looking around to make sure nobody's looking, I drag her into an empty closet and lock it. I turn on the light, and she says, "What?"

I reply, "That's what I want to ask you. Exactly what are you doing?"

She responds, "What do you mean?"

Frustrated, I say, "Why would you hide the fact that I was already called by name by you, and why do you keep calling me by my family name?"

She pauses, thinking. Then she raises herself on her toes, abruptly kisses me on the cheek, and whispers, "That's why."

I turn to her, unfazed. I growl, "That answers none of my questions, and you know it, Mikan."

She flinches, unused to my use of her name, and she turns away from me, hand grasping the knob. "I honestly don't know myself. Don't demand answers from me until I'm sure I can answer them. Just wait until then."

I ask, "How long am I supposed to wait?"

She mutters, "I don't know that, either."

She swiftly unlocks the door and opens it, and she is bombarded with questions from various people. "What did he want?" "Did he do anything to you?" "What happened in there?"

She holds a hand up to stop the barrage of questions, unflustered, and says, "He just wanted to ask me some questions. That's all."

Evidently, this reply is unsatisfactory. She gets raided by questions yet again, and she cuts them off, saying, "I'm not handing out details like candy. Now shut up and let's hear what Oji-san has to say."

"Thank you. I gathered you all here, because I think you guys have a right to know," the HSP says. He pauses, hesitating, before continuing. "Luna has been found."

-End of Chapter 22-

* * *

A/N: That's about it! The big, huge fight is coming up soon. I don't know exactly how soon though, maybe one, two, possibly even three chapters later? Hope you liked it, and review! Thanks to **20iash **for following! Loving the reviews, keep them up! The next chapter... Will have Tono, Yuu, and Youichi(6-years old, I'm making him, or around) in it; I think. I'm not too sure. The rest of the Dangerous Abilities class will be introduced soon after. I'm trying to get all the characters in Gakuen Alice, but it's turning out harder than I thought! Oh, and by the way, I had to make the e-mail from Persona, because honestly, I don't think Natsume would be dumb enough to not figure out that it's Mikan. Oh! Last thing. Mikan's curse doesn't show up in the latest chapters, but it will soon, I'm sorry to say. The next one or the one after that, it will be the worst one yet. But that's it! Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice does not belong to me, but to Tachibana-san!**


	23. Chapter 23: Revelations

_*Recap*_

Evidently, this reply is unsatisfactory. She gets raided by questions yet again, and she cuts them off, saying, "I'm not handing out details like candy. Now shut up and let's hear what Oji-san has to say."

"Thank you. I gathered you all here, because I think you guys have a right to know," the HSP says. He pauses, hesitating, before continuing. "Luna has been found."

* * *

**Chapter 23: Revelation**

There is a deafening silence ensuing for a couple of seconds. Then, "What?!" "How?!" "When?!" "Where?!"

I stay completely still, not moving a muscle. 'Luna's been found?' I think, shocked by the news. Hyuuga notices, and comes over. He asks, "Are you okay?"

I remain in my rigid position as I see Oji-san trying to fend off the questions. Finally, he clears he throat, and says, "Shiki-san was trying to find Luna, as I told him about the curse a few days ago-"

"No!"

All heads swivel towards me. I rush towards Oji-san, tears flowing freely out of my eyes. I scream at him, "It's bad enough I had to involve all of you in this; Shiki-san didn't have to be involved! I deliberately chose to be vague about the curse so he wouldn't ask and-" I break down, crying.

Tsubasa-senpai touches my shoulder gently. He says softly, "We all chose to hear about the curse; we also chose to be involved. You didn't have to involve all of us, we chose to be in it."

I sob, "That's why I didn't tell him all about the curse in the first place! Knowing him, and how willing he was to help my mom, he probably would've been happy at the chance to help her only daughter! That's why I didn't tell him! I wanted him to have a free life, not burdened by this stupid curse, or anything!"

Hotaru says, "Dummy. If you knew that, wouldn't you respect his decision to help you instead of refusing it?"

I run out of the room, not wanting to hear anything any longer.

* * *

"Shit."

We all look at the HSP, surprised. We have never heard him swear before. Unfazed by it, he says, "If you want to hear the whole story, listen carefully. Shiki-san was trying to find Luna, and he found her. She came to the AAO, asking for help. It seems as if she knew we were all going to come after her. She requested for reinforcements, pawns, as you might call them. At first, the boss refused. It was reasonable. Who would give out their Alices to someone they hardly knew? But she soon convinced them. Before they knew it, she pounced on them all, and Shiki, with him having the Barrier Alice, was unharmed by her Soul-Sucking Alice. She took control of them all, making them tell their Alices to go help this mysterious person. They did, and she left. Shiki-san followed them, but she found him. He's now in her ranks, but only as a spy. She didn't realize he had the Barrier Alice, among the many other Alice stones Yuka, Mikan's mother, had inserted in him. He told us where she is heading, and it's right here in this very academy."

The pink one asks, "Where in the academy?"

Persona replies, "The Northern Forest."

We look at him, wondering. How... He says, "It's the only reasonable place. Nobody dares to go in the Northern Forest except for you guys, so it's the perfect place to fight without being disturbed."

Older Imai says, "Why-"

That's when I run out of the room; I've heard enough, and I've left Mikan alone for too long. I hear, "Hyuuga!" before I slam the door shut. I sprint down the corridors, past the classrooms still in session, and outside to the sakura tree, where I know she'll be. And I'm right.

* * *

I hear footsteps, and I immediately stifle my cries, scrambling up into one of the highest branches I can manage. I look down, and it's Hyuuga. He looks around the tree, and runs off somewhere else. I sigh, wait five seconds, then jump down. Just as I reach the ground, I feel a pair of strong arms wrapping around my waist and arms. My heart accelerates, knowing already who it is. I struggle blindly, and I scream, "Let go, Hyuuga!"

He replies softly, "No. Not until you calm down."

I shriek, "I said to let go already!"

He still doesn't let go.

I collapse to the ground, silent tears streaking fast down my cheeks. He goes down with me, arms still wrapped around me. My face grows warm as I mutter, "I hate you."

He chuckles, but says nothing.

I continue, "I hate you for doing this to me. Why are you so stupid to get involved? Why are you so annoying, and irritating? Why are you so arrogant? Why, why, why?"

He hesitates, then replies, "I don't know."

I twist around, facing him. The tears stop, and I attempt to squirm my way out, but he has an iron grip on me. I say softly, "You can let go now."

He says, "What if I don't want to?"

I snort, "Yeah, right. Because you would totally want to hold an ugly, cursed, crying girl voluntarily?"

He mutters something, but I can't hear it. "What?"

He says, "Never mind."

"Well, can you let go of me so I can go to my room to cry in peace? Because this position," I say, indicating where I'm half-sitting on his lap. "is not very comfortable."

He snickers, and lets go. I tumble out, and land on the soft grass. "Are you really going to cry alone in your room? Because that's just flat out depressing," he says bluntly.

I scowl, and say, "What if I am? What are you going to do about it?"

His demeanor turns serious. "Then I'm coming with you. You really shouldn't keep it to yourself; you're too stupid to handle all of that stress."

I mutter, "Fine. See if I care."

I stomp the rest of the way to my room, and he follows quietly behind. I guess he wasn't kidding. As I stroll across my room, he takes a look around. He spots something on my desk, and heads over to take a closer look. I say, "I'm going to the bathroom to wash up. Stay in here, Hyuuga."

I head to the bathroom, and when I step out, I see he is sitting down on my bed, holding my mask. Shocked, I stammer, "W-what are you doing with that?"

He glances up at me, and says, "I'm guessing by your reaction, you were at the ball?"

I say, "What do you mean?"

"At the ball, there was only one girl I danced with." I quietly sigh in relief at this. "She was amazingly good at dancing, and managed not to step on my toes. She was a lot like you. I'm guessing you're her?" he says, lifting up the mask.

I regain my composure, and lean against the doorframe. I say, "So what if I am?"

He smirks, and comes towards me. I step back, unsure of what he's going to do. I say, "What are you doing?"

He say quietly, "I was wondering who that girl was. She was the only one... That I thought truly looked beautiful. I thought she was exactly like you." My eyes widen. Me? Beautiful?

He continues, "But I received an e-mail from Persona that said you weren't going to be there. So I asked Persona. He didn't reply, but said to figure it out myself. You are her, aren't you?"

I say, "Yes, that night, I was her. But I'm not her now. I'm not wearing those amazing clothes, I don't have that beautiful hairstyle, not wearing those shoes that carried grace, and I'm certainly not behind that mask that can hide my face."

He replies softly, "You should think of yourself a lot better than that. You honestly don't realize it, don't you?"

I ask, confused, "What?"

He responds, "You don't know that you have a half-decent personality, carry grace and poise with you on most days, and you certainly don't realize that mask that hides your face, I was so frustrated with it? I mean, really. You took off my mask, got to see who I was, but I was driving myself half-out of my mind because of it?"

I snicker, and say, "You really can't hand out compliments without giving insults along with it, can you?"

He turns serious. He asks, "Do you have an Telepathy Alice stone?"

I reply, "Yeah, why?"

He says, "Insert it in me. Then you'll hear what's really on my mind, if that satisfies you."

I grin, liking the idea. I walk over to my desk, open a drawer, and take out a deep green Alice stone. I walk back over to Hyuuga, and with a light blue flash, it disappears in his body. I concentrate, and I can hear his thoughts.

I stumble back, struck by the intensity of it. It's so overwhelming. The feeling of protectiveness, worry, and something else too... Hyuuga grabs my arm, keeping me from falling, and I look into his crimson eyes. The feeling, it's so similar to what I feel. I think back, thinking about when I'm around him, how my heart seems to race, how I always have to struggle to keep my emotions blank, how I always try and protect him when he's in danger. I even think about my dreams, how when he collapsed, or died, in some of them, I was always filled up by this feeling of despair, rage, and guilt. I can't believe I didn't realize it before.

"I love you," I say, taking him by surprise. I wrap my arms around him, and I whisper, "I love you. I think that's it. Why I'm always so confused around you, so protective, why my heart always seems to race when you're around..."

I can hear his thoughts, still reeling from what I said. I retreat from his mind, wanting him to think about it on his own. I unwrap my arms from around him, and I take a step back, my hair covering my blush. I say, "Sorry."

Then I flee from the room in quick, light steps.

* * *

_"I love you."_

Did she just say that?

Then she repeats it and hugs me. But this time, it feels different. "I love you. I think that's it. Why I'm so confused around you, so protective, why my heart always seems to race when you're around..."

She takes a step back, releasing me, and I stand there, dumbfounded by what she just said. She covers her face with her hair, and she mutters, "Sorry," before running out of the room.

I stay still, processing what he just said. All those things she said... I smirk. I guess she is smarter than me, after all.

-End of Chapter 23-

* * *

A/N: There it is. Next chapter will be more MxN mushy moments. Look forward to it! Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice doesn't belong to me, but to Tachibana-san.**


	24. Chapter 24: Awareness

_*Recap*_

She takes a step back, releasing me, and I stand there, dumbfounded by what she just said. She covers her face with her hair, and she mutters, "Sorry," before running out of the room.

I stay still, processing what he just said. All those things she said... I smirk. I guess she is smarter than me, after all.

* * *

**Chapter 24: Awareness **

I run out of the room, through the corridors, and to the sakura tree, feeling a growing sense of déjà vu. I spin on my heels, and instead run to the Elementary School, where I know a place I can hide. I sprint the last couple of yards from my hiding place, open the door, and slam it. I sit on the floor of an abandoned music classroom, a place I chanced on a long time ago to hide. I hug my knees to my chest, and sit there for a while, trying to comprehend what just happened. In the last hour, I cried, had Hyuuga comfort me, got found out by him, and even confessed. How stupid am I?!

I walk over to the grand piano in the middle of the room, and out one of its keys. It's still in tune! I position myself in the chair, and get ready to play a song. A song I started a long time ago, but never finished, though I know how to do so now. I sing.

* * *

**Natsume's POV**

Where is she? I run to the Elementary School, guided by a feeling I can't describe. I walk aimlessly, until I find myself at an abandoned classroom. I hear piano music coming out of it, and as I get closer, my eyes widen. Holy shit, she's singing. I honestly never thought she'd be this good.

_Hey, we weren't fated to meet by chance  
I probably happened  
to be the last place  
You took refuge in_

Still, that was the beginning of the inevitable  
The buried shards of memories from the past

Unable to fade away even yet  
I still remember without change, even now  
Someday it will  
all be connected... and never disappear...

During a rusted era like this  
I'll always be praying from here  
Hoping that this will be the end  
That all things tormenting you  
will come to an end soon...

Hey, the radiant, vexed eternity of the day  
when we promised each other  
Was actually more distorted than anything else  
I knew from the beginning that

I want to focus on tomorrow more than anyone  
Though I know that walking forward means bearing a cross on my back

Before something begins to break quietly  
I held on tightly so I won't let go  
Someday everything will  
overlap... hoping I can feel that way...

In a rusted scenery like this  
Everyone searches for a radiance forever  
Hoping to be proud tomorrow  
That all things that will make you happy  
will be close to me...

During a rusted era like this  
I'll always be praying from here  
Hoping that this will be the end  
That all things tormenting you  
will come to an end soon...

* * *

**Mikan's POV**

I hold my finger on the key, the note still reverberating throughout the room. I close my eyes, and sigh. I hear a voice, saying, "Why are you sighing?"

I snap my eyes open, and twist around. I say, "How long have you been there, Hyuuga?"

He smirks, and says, "Well, some time. About when you started that song. Which, I can say, isn't have bad."

I smile, and use the Telepathy Alice. I reach into his mind, and I say, "Your mind doesn't think so."

He mutters, "Invasion of privacy. Ever heard the term?"

I reply, snickering, "I have, but you don't seem familiar with it at all. After you made me insert the Telepathy Alice into you, you should've know you were basically giving your sense of privacy to me at that moment, Hyuuga."

He says seriously, "You know, if you really did love me, then you would call me by name instead of calling me by my family name like a total stranger."

My eyes widen, and I mutter, "Fine. But you probably don't love me, so what's it matter to you?"

He sighs, and roughly grabs my chin to make me look into his crimson eyes. My entire body tingles, and my face heats up. I hear my heart racing, and I wonder if he can hear it too; it's that loud. I say, "What?"

He responds, "You know, I wouldn't chase all the way after you. In the rain, which I might add," making me notice for the first time he's dripping wet.

I yell, "Are you crazy?! Why would you do that, anyway?"

He smirks, and says, "Which brings me to the answer to your question. Because I love you. Isn't that obvious?"

My eyes widen even further, and I say, "If this is a joke, I'm going to freaking murder you in your sleep."

He says, "I wouldn't joke about something like that," before he bringing his lips to mine.

When we kiss, I feel as if I'm floating up into the clouds. It feels different than the other times I've kissed him. It feels... Aware. The last couple of times I had kissed him, I was either half-delirious with fever, or numb with cold. But that's not the only aware. I'm aware of my feelings towards him, and he is too. We pull apart after a few seconds, and I say, "So what does this make me now, Natsume?"

He allows himself a little smile, and he replies, "Probably my girlfriend?"

I mock glare at him, and indignantly say, "Probably?"

He chuckles softly, and says, "Yeah."

"Well, thanks for that," I say, dragging myself to my feet.

I take his hand, and he raises his eyebrow at me. "We have to get going sometime, right?"

He snickers, "Is that so? We've been gone for about an hour, and nobody's sending bloodhounds. As far as I know, anyway."

I drag him along, ignoring what he just said. I say, "I'm more afraid of what Hotaru's going to do to me, and more so, to you, if they find us together in this room."

He says, walking next to me, "Okay. By the way, where did you get that song?"

I grin at him, saying, "I wrote it."

He raises his eyebrow, and I roll my eyes in return. "So you don't believe me?"

"The fact that you actually have musical capabilities? Yes."

I spin around, the rain pouring down on us. My hair's plastered to my head, my boots are squelching, and I'm soaking wet, but I could care less. I reach up on my toes, and kiss him softly. He responds, and I tangle my fingers into his messy hair. I pull back, and he asks, "What was that for?"

I reply, smiling, "I always wanted to try kissing in the rain like those corny Hollywood movies. Gotta say it's not very pleasant, though."

He chuckles, and I laugh. He says, "Was that all?"

I tilt my head, confused. "Was there supposed to be another reason?"

He says, "No, not really." and he kisses me, taking me by surprise.

My heartbeat accelerates twice its normal speed. He pulls back, saying, "We're both going to get pneumonia if we stay out here any longer. Come on."

I stomp my foot, scowling. "Don't do that so randomly! Jeez, Natsume. So annoying."

He smirks, amused. We start walking to the Middle School, and I say, "Hey. Is there a Elementary School Principal too?"

He glances back at me, his expression darkening. He replies, "Yeah, there is. But he's not as nice as the other principals."

I ask, "What do you mean?"

He says, turning away,"He's the one who gives us our missions. He hates your mom especially. She put Persona's Alice stone and your dad's too in him, and he has a body's like a kid's. She left the school shortly after that."

My eyes widen with this. Maybe he... "... Luna," I mutter.

He snaps his head his head towards me. "What?"

I whisper, "Maybe he's an ally of Luna. He's most likely the one who ordered her to curse me."

-End of Chapter 24-

* * *

A/N: That's about it! I hope you liked it, and all the MxN moments that came with it. The song was Last Cross by Mitsuoka Masami. It's from Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and you guys definitely have to check it out, it's a really good song. Also, most likely, I'll explain what happened to Koko and Permy in the next chapter, and probably introduce Youichi and Tono, though I don't know about Yuu. The Dangerous Ability class will follow shortly after, along with Shuuichi. Look forward to it! Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice, and neither does Tachibana-san. Just kidding. She owns it.**


	25. Chapter 25: December 31st

_*Recap*_

My eyes widen with this. Maybe he... "... Luna," I mutter.

He snaps his head his head towards me. "What?"

I whisper, "Maybe he's an ally of Luna. He's most likely the one who ordered her to curse me."

* * *

**Chapter 25: December 31st**

Natsume opens the door, and he walks in, dragging me along with him. "Explain what you said to them," he says to me, indicating the large group in front of us.

I open my mouth to speak, but I'm quickly interrupted. "First, before you explain... Whatever you're going to explain, why are you soaking wet?"

I smile, and I reply to Tsubasa-senpai, "We were out in the rain, of course."

Misaki-senpai says, "Exactly why were you out in the rain?"

I wave a hand at her, telling her silently I'll tell her later. "Details don't matter right now."

Natsume pointedly stares at me, gesturing for me to continue. I say, "When we were out in the rain, for details I will not expose right now, Natsume told me about the ESP. I'm guessing you all know who that is? And the reason for his... condition?"

They nod numbly, surprised by my use of Natsume's name. "Well, Natsume told me about how the ESP hates my mother, and I came across an interesting, yet plausible, theory to my curse."

I pause, waiting for them to react. Ruka-pyon says, "What do you mean, theory to your curse?"

I say, "I'll explain that right now. I'm thinking... The ESP is responsible for my curse."

A silence carries out for a few seconds, and then chaos erupts in Persona's room. "The ESP?!"

"I thought Luna was!"

"A principal?!"

I say, shushing all of them, "Yes, the ESP. I am aware he is a principal, but think about it. He hates my mom, and that gives him a grudge against me. As I'm her only daughter, he would probably want me dead. I also have the same Alices she had, and that makes me a potential threat. My dad's not here right now, but the ESP knows anyway that I have the Nullification Alice, if he knows my other Alices. It would, and if I have Persona here with me, which I do, be a threat.

"But he's a principal," Anna-chan says.

"He wouldn't do that, as principal, would he?" Nonoko-chan chimes.

Misaki-senpai adds, "If he actually did that, wouldn't his rights as principal be revoked? And wouldn't he be kicked out of the school?"

Hotaru mutters, "Not unless he's been found."

Oji-san murmurs, "He's the one who sends the Dangerous Ability students on missions. He has been found harming the students, but his rights as principal aren't revoked because he constantly blackmails people, threatening them to hurt the ones they love. He is a highly manipulative man, and most likely, he manipulated Luna herself. I'd say Mikan's theory is probably correct."

A sense of quiet rings throughout the room. I change the subject, saying, "Is anybody else besides Shiki-san helping us that I need to know of?"

Everybody sighs, and I know that they know I've resigned to accepting others' help. Oji-san says, "Yes, actually. I'll call them in right now."

My eyes widen. I didn't actually expect for others to voluntarily help me! Who could it be?

After a few minutes of fidgeting, waiting, and shuffling, Oji-san says, "They're here now. Come in, all of you."

The door opens to reveal a long-haired and a blond high school students, Iinchou, and some of the Dangerous Abilities class; Amane Rui, Matsudiara Hayate, tiny Hijiri Youichi, and even recently joined Ibaragi Nobara. I bluntly say to the high-schoolers, "Who are you?"

The long-haired guy immediately meets my piercing gaze. He smiles cheerfully, and says, "Tonochi Akira, but you can call me Tono. The guy here," he says, gesturing to the blond student. "is Sakurano Shuuichi. You don't know him? He's the student council president."

I look at Sakurano, eyes narrowing. It's true that he does look familiar, but I didn't expect him to be the student council president. Subaru-san walks over to him, and says, punching his arm, "I didn't know you were going to be here. The least you could've done is tell me."

Sakurano snorts, "I would do that because...?"

Subaru-san glares at him. I turn my attention to 8 year-old Youichi. "You-chan," I say, using my nickname for him. He turns his cold blue eyes on me, and tugs at my boots. "Why are you here?"

He sighs, saying, "I want to help, isn't that obvious?"

I smile gently, and I know that he cares for me as if I was his older sister. I crouch down, and pat his spiky, short gray hair softly, whispering, "Thank you, You-chan."

I stand up, brushing off my clothes, and I ask a restless Iinchou, "Why?"

He hesitates, and pushes his glasses up his nose. He replies, "I want to help, Mikan-chan. Whether you remember it or not, I was one of your close friends once. Trust me at least, on this matter."

I respond quietly, "Okay, I do trust you. I'm counting on you."

He snaps his head up, a grateful smile already appearing on his face. I turn over to Nobara. "Why are you here?"

She says softly, "I want to help you, Sakura-san. In return for helping me."

I say, grinning, "No worries. We are friends, right? Nobara-chan."

I don't know what it is about her, but the way she's so gentle, almost fragile, makes me want to befriend her. She says, smiling, "Thank you. Is it okay... if I call you Mikan-chan?"

I scoff, "Of course. Isn't that the first thing we do when we're friends?"

She nods quickly, and I smile. I glare at Amane and Matsudiara, saying, "Now, why are you here?"

They squirm under my gaze, stammering, "We just wanted to help. Is that so bad?"

I smile sinisterly, saying, "Okay. Let's see how that turns out."

I say to Oji-san, "Is that everyone?"

He replies, "Kokoyomi-san and Sumire-san are also helping."

I mutter, "Figures."

He smirks cheekily, and I swing my glare over to him. Just as I open my mouth to say something, I sneeze. Everyone turns over to me, worried. My vision flickers as I say, "A small cold. Nothing to worry about," as I fall to the floor.

* * *

**Natsume's POV**

Jeez, she looks freezing. She says, "A small cold. Nothing to worry about."

As the last word leaves her lips, she collapses to the floor. I rush over at the same time everyone else does, and manage to catch her before she can hit the floor. I say, "Oi, Mikan, what's wrong?"

She doesn't reply, but instead shivers uncontrollably. A sheen of sweat appears on her pale face. I take her into my chest, trying to warm her as she continues to shake. I say, "What's wrong?"

She flutters her eyes open, and she says weakly, "It's so cold in here. I can't feel anything."

The heat is on high, but she still says it's cold? She can't feel anything... My eyes widen. It's only a week into her birthday. This... is serious. I say, "Don't say anything. Just relax. But don't fall asleep."

She manages to say, closing her eyes, "But I'm... so.. tired. I'll try... but I can't.. promise any..." before she goes limp in my arms.

I shake her, trying to wake her up, but it doesn't work. I yell, "Hey! Wake up!"

But she doesn't respond. It's almost as if she's... dead, though I know it's not the case. She won't die until her birthday. She can't.

Somebody covers her with a thick blanket, but I shake my head. I rise quickly, saying, "I'm gonna take her to her room. It'll be warm there."

Nobody protests as I swiftly leave the room.

* * *

_(5 days later)_

She still hasn't woken up. She's warm; actually hot with fever. She slipped into a coma about a few days ago. While she sleeps, I barely had any time to sleep myself, catching a few minutes of sleep here and there, but that's about it. I stay at her side constantly, never leaving her. They all bring me food, not for me to starve, but also not wanting to force me to leave her side also. I just robotically put the food in my mouth, not tasting anything. But it keeps me somewhat healthy, anyway. Ruka comes in and sits down in the seat next to me, but I hardly notice. He says, "Have you gotten any sleep, Natsume?"

I say nothing, and he sighs. He rises, and he says, "Take care of yourself."

I nod numbly, and he leaves.

_'Wake up, Mikan.'_ I think before my eyes close involuntarily.

* * *

**Mikan's POV**

I wake up, my eyes opening slowly. I can see it's night. I think about how long it's been since I've been fully conscious. I immediately see Natsume slumped over in a chair, and he looks exhausted. I briefly wonder how long he was awake for before he gave into sleepiness. I reach over and brush his hair out of his face, and a wave of electricity shoots through my body at this simple contact. Apparently, he feels it too as he blearily opens his eyes. I whisper, "Sorry for waking you."

He shakes his head slowly, ignoring my comment. He asks, "Are you okay?"

I smile. He looks like the walking dead, and he's asking me if I'm okay. Ridiculous. "I think I should be the one asking you that."

He says, "Well, I'm not the one who went into a coma for five days."

My eyes widen. Five... That's the longest I've been out. I say, "What day is it today?"

His crimson eyes look at me, and I shiver. Something in his eyes... Before I can investigate, he says gravely, "Midnight."

I reply, "That's not telling me what day it is."

He sighs, and closes his eyes. After a second, he reopens them.

"A day before your birthday. It's December 31st."

-End of Chapter 25-

* * *

A/N: I'm pretty sure the next chapter's going to be the big fight. Look forward to it! It might not be published until a while later, because I want everything to be perfect. Well, until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: Wish I did own Gakuen Alice, but sadly, Tachibana-san does, not me. **


	26. Chapter 26: Surrender

_*Recap*_

He sighs, and closes his eyes. After a second, he reopens them.

"A day before your birthday. It's December 31st."

* * *

**Chapter 26: Surrender**

_'It's December 31st.'_

Did he just say...

Natsume repeats it, confirming my suspicions. "It's December 31st."

The words ring throughout my room and my head. _December 31st... December 31st. _Before I can respond, Hotaru's first invention,a robot named Amanatsu, come flying through the door. Amanatsu says, "Mikan-san! You're awake! That's good!"

I smile at her. I know she's a her, mainly because Hotaru modeled her after me. I say, "Yep. What do you need, Amanastsu?"

The robot's expression becomes grave, and I know something bad's happened. She turns over to Natsume, who has noticed this to. She says, "Your parents... got into a car accident."

* * *

We sprint throughout the hospital's corridors, and Natsume checks on me once in a while, making sure I don't collapse suddenly. I shake my head at him, and after a while, he stops. We screech to a stop at room 17... Where Natsume's parents lie.

Natsume slams the door open, and I flinch, merely at the loudness at the sound. All of a sudden, the moment I flinch, my left ankle snaps, and it's all I can do to not scream or react at the abrupt, sharp bolt of pain shooting up my leg. Damn the freaking curse.

He strides through the room, and falters to a stop near the bed. I walk over to him, trying not to limp, and I am mostly successful. He glances up at me, and luckily, he hasn't noticed anything yet. I see Natsume's parents, both lying on the bed peacefully. They're still alive, but hanging on by a weak thread. I say, "They'll survive."

The words are hollow, empty, and I half-believe it myself. A flashback of my own parents dying appears before my eyes, and I squeeze them shut, trying to banish the thoughts and images out of my head. I clench my fists, shaking, attempting futilely not to remember. I say in a wavering voice, "I have to go to the bathroom."

I walk out before he can say anything, and as I close the door, I slump to the ground. A tear escapes my eye, but I can't tell whether it's the emotional pain that's causing it, or the physical pain of my ankle.

After a second or two, I stand up shakily, and I head over to the bathroom. As the door softly closes behind me, I make sure nobody's there. Seeing there's no one, I shove a wastebasket up the knob, preventing anyone from coming in.

I stagger towards a wall, sinking to the ground slowly. I take off my boots and pull the end of my pants up to reveal my ankle. I automatically cringe at the sight. It's already swollen, and blood is leaking out of a cut I didn't know I had. I probe it, and I flinch.

I brush myself off as I stand up slowly. I wash off the blood, but more flows out, so I give up and instead bandage it with a towel wrapped tightly around it. I replace the boot on my foot, and remove the wastebasket from the knob.

I step out, and immediately, I see Natsume slumped on a chair outside his parents' room. I walk over to him lightly, and he looks up, a haunted look in his ruby eyes. I shiver at the intensity of them, and he says, "They're barely living."

Without a word, I stumble towards him, and wrap my arms around him. He doesn't react, and only then do I realize it really did affect him. I pull back, cup his face in my small hands, and say, "Don't think so negatively. They'll definitely be alright."

I smile softly, cursing myself. This is all because of the curse. I glance at the clock, reading 3:04. It's still late. I whisper, "Go back to your own room, and sleep."

He replies, "What are you going to do?"

I say firmly, "Don't ask any questions. Just go to sleep."

"What are you going to do?" he growls.

I say nothing, and he grabs me by my shoulders roughly, and I try not to flinch at the sudden streak of pain from my ankle. He says, "Tell me."

I manage to say, "... Shut up.."

He frowns, taking in my exhausted posture. He mutters, "I will murder you if you're not in your room by morning."

He spins on his heel, and I sigh. As I watch his retreating back, unexpectedly, an presence is made known to me, and it's hers. I think, _'Sorry, Natsume.' _before limping off into the night.

* * *

_'Sorry..'_

I stop, surprised at the sudden voice of Mikan in my head. The Telepathy Alice. I step into my room, trying to ignore the foreboding feeling. Exactly what does she have to be sorry about? I attempt to sleep, but the apology rings through my head, keeping my from sleeping.

Just then, Ruka bursts in the room, looking flustered. I say, "What's wrong?"

He replies hurriedly, "Luna's here."

I sit up quickly, and raise an eyebrow. What's the big problem? He exclaims, "Sakura's not anywhere. She's not here!"

I jump off the bed, running past Ruka. As I brush past, I mutter to him, "She said sorry. What do you think that means?"

But I already know the answer.

* * *

I stumble my way to the Northern Forest, where I know she's waiting. I burst through the line of trees, and she's standing at our clearing, our training ground. She says, smirking, "What happened to your little boyfriend?"

I say, "Take the curse back, bitch."

She twitches, hearing my insult. She turns faces me, a sinister smile dancing on her lips. "Maybe I'll just play with him a little to match you..."

I scream, "Don't!"

She tilts her head at me, acting confused. "Don't what?"

I plead, "Don't hurt him."

She smirks, and snaps her fingers. "Too late."

* * *

I sprint towards the Northern Forest, where Ruka said where both of them will likely be, before he ran off to get our friends. As I start to enter the forest, my ankle twists abruptly. I cringe, and continue on my way, ignoring the pain. It's definitely Luna.

* * *

I shriek at Luna, "What'll it take for you to stop?!"

She sneers, "Wow. Never expected for the great Sakura Mikan to actually beg."

I snarl at her, "What do you want from me?!"

She hisses at me, "For you to die. For you to suffer."

I say quietly, "Is that all it'll take?"

She snaps her head up, surprised. "Are you surrendering?"

I reply softly, "If that's what it'll take for you to stop hurting them."

She smiles, pulling out a dagger. "Then use this."

I say, taking it, "If I do, will you stop? Will you swear on everything you care about, on the promise that you will stop?"

She responds, "I do. It's you I want anyway, so I have no reason to harm your friends any further."

I smile gently, thinking of all my friends, and him too. The dagger surges towards my heart of my own will, and two thoughts come along as an image of Natsume crosses my mind.

_'I love you.'_

_'Good-bye.'_

* * *

-End of Chapter 26-

A/N: Done. Tell me what you thought of it! Review, favorite, and thanks to **anaiyy**, **OYYES123**, **Sekaira**, and **NiaTheAnimeFreak **for following! Until the next chapter! Bye!

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice, but the one who does own it, her name is Tachibana-san.**


	27. Chapter 27: Poison

_*Recap*_

_'I love you.'_

_'Good-bye.'_

* * *

**Chapter 27: Poison**

**Natsume's POV**

I hear voices as I come closer to the training ground. As I near it, I hear that it's Mikan and the witch.

"For you to die. For you to suffer."

"... Is that all it'll take?"

Catching her reply, I sprint faster, taking no notice of the pain in my ankle. Te conversation continues.

"Are you surrendering?"

"If that's what it'll take for you to stop hurting them."

I surge forward, urging myself to go faster. I don't completely hear the witch's reply, but I do hear Mikan's.

"If I do, will you stop? Will you swear on everything you care about, on the promise that you will stop?"

I strain myself, pushing my feet closer to the clearing.

"If I do, will you stop? Will you swear on everything you care about, on the promise that you will stop?"

_'NO! Don't bargain with her!'_ I think.

The witch lies, and I can almost hear her smile in her voice. "I do. It's you I want anyway, so I have no reason to harm your friends any further."

I'm almost there. Just a few more seconds...

I burst through the trees and into the clearing. My first sight I see is of Mikan, a dagger nearing her heart... and she's doing it by herself. I do the only thing I can to stop her.

"Mikan!"

* * *

**Mikan's POV**

The tip of the dagger pierces my skin, and I will my hands to make it deeper, to hold out my end of the deal. As the cold dagger starts moving again, towards my heart, I hear, "Mikan!"

I stop, looking in the direction of the voice. A tall man with raven-black hair and crimson eyes stands at the edge of the clearing, panting. My eyes immediately wander to his twisted left ankle, but he doesn't seem to care about it. Worry, dread, and relief fill up inside me all at once.

Why is he here? Why is Natsume here? He should've been sleeping... Then I cursed. If I felt the presence of Luna, Oji-san must've felt it too. I snap at him, "Why are you here?"

He scoffs, "Unless you want to die, which I think you do, I think it was damn lucky that I was here."

I retort, "I'm not suicidal, so that cancels out. I was trying to get you out of this."

His demeanor turns serious. "Since when did you have any obligation to me?"

I mutter, "Since your parents got into that accident."

"... That wasn't your fault, but rather it was the witch's, who's trying to get away now."

I glance at Luna, who actually had the nerve to try and escape. She stops trying to inch towards the line of trees. I say coldly, "And where exactly do you think you're going?"

She smirks, bemused. My eye twitches, and I throw the dagger down, irritated at her source of amusement. Namely, us. She says, "Isn't that obvious? I'm getting reinforcements. Two against one isn't very fair, Sakura-san."

Sarcasm and venom coating my voice, I say, "And you're all about being fair because... Oh yeah! Bringing an army of Alices to fight... about ten kids, give or take, them all? That's totally fair, right?"

She retorts, rolling her eyes, "Whatever. Just try and hold your boyfriend there from killing me right now. I think murder is in his beautiful eyes, but I can't say exactly who it's directed to." I frown at her flirtatious tone.

Luna laughs, stilling away from us casually. As she leaves, Ruka-pyon arrives with the others, glaring at her retreating back. They ask a multitude of questions. I ignore them, instead focusing on my newly-made wound. Natsume sees, and immediately comes over. He says, "How deep?"

I look at him, my surprise evident, even in the glimmer light found in the evening moon. I thought he was going to murder me...? He snaps, "Well?"

I shake myself out of my trance, and reply haughtily, "Not that deep. Calm down, I can take care of it by myself, Natsume."

As the words leave my mouth, he scowls at me, his glare malicious He says, "Apparently not. I leave you alone for a few hours, and you're already trying to die. Did you even think about fighting?"

I don't reply, and instead the way Luna threatened Natsume comes back to me. After she did that... all coherent thoughts abandoned me and left me desperate. He seems to sense this and crouches down next to me. He mutters, "That bad?"

I nod numbly, and he sighs. All of sudden, a fact comes rushing back to me. My hands hover above his ankle, and my eyebrows furrow. I ask, "Are you crazy?! Running all that way on a disabled ankle! You have to be mental."

He snickers, and says, "You don't seem to be doing so well yourself, so don't you start talking."

I smack him playfully in the arm, and Ruka-pyon clears his throat, seemingly uncomfortable. Both of us turn to him, and Ruka-pyon says, "Sorry to interrupt your flirting," I frown at this. We were not flirting! "but exactly what happened with Luna, and all that?"

A weird buzzing feeling spreads from my wound throughout my body. Natsume speaks, fortunately preventing me from talking. "Luna made a deal with Mikan that if Mikan died, Luna would leave the rest of us alone. It was a lie, obviously, but the stupid girl took the bait, and was about to kill herself to save the rest of us."

A silence echoes in the forest, and a few sends later, everybody comes up to me, asking questions.

"What were you thinking?"

"Why did you do that?"

"When did you meet her?"

"Didn't you think about our training?"

I reply, trying to answer all their questions, but there's too much for me to focus on. The buzzing feeling grows worse, however; it goes hot, making me feel like I'm hovered above fire. I try to act normal, but Natsume sees and rushes over, shoving everybody out of his way. He asks in an undertone, "What's wrong with you?"

I attempt to reply, but my voice won't come out. He mutters, "Honestly, what's wrong with you?"

My vision flickers, turning my sight into spiraling colors of red, black, and yellow. I'm drained of almost all my energy, and I start to fall towards the ground. Natsume catches me, and asks urgently, "Hey! What's wrong?!"

I respond softly, with a last burst of strength, "I think.. there was poison.. on the dagger."

With that, I pass out.

* * *

A/N: That's it. I think the next chapter, or the chapter after that will be what you guys were waiting for. Yay! As always, review, favorite, follow, etc, etc. Hope you liked it, because I got the feeling not many people liked the last one... Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: I don't, do not, own Gakuen Alice. The one with all the rights is Tachibana-san.**


	28. Chapter 28:Enemy

*Recap*

I respond softly, with a last burst of strength, "I think.. there was poison.. on the dagger."

With that, I pass out.

* * *

**Chapter 28: Enemy**

Voices wander in and out of my... I actually don't know what state I'm in. I'm straying in between the state of blacking out and staying awake, and, frankly it's giving me a headache. The voices sound like I'm underwater, and I'm struggling to reach the surface. It's really frustrating. I can't make out whole sentences, or who's even talking.

"... poison... dagger."

"... dawn..."

"...fragile condition..."

I groan, and immediately a hand I didn't know I held squeezes mine. I open my eyes blearily, trying to make out the figures in my vision. I blink repeatedly, attempting to cancel out the swirling black dots. I glance over at my hand holding another's, and it leads to Natsume's. I ask him, "How long?"

He replies, "It's only been about four hours. It's eight in the morning right now."

I'm still confused about something. I say, "What's this about dawn?"

His ruby eyes darken and I know it's something bad. He says, "The witch started attacking at dawn. Right now, most of our friends are fighting right now."

I glance at him, horrified. Already they're fighting? I jump out of the bed of the infirmary, but I regret it as soon as I do. Nausea rolls off in waves, and the black dots return. I'm about to fall over when Natsume catches me. I growl in frustration. What use am I if I can't even stand up? He sees my expression, and chuckles. Remembering the dagger, I ask, "So there was poison after all?"

He stops, and says, "There was. Imai couldn't cure it, yet again. It's almost like the same substance as the curse when it first affected you."

I focus on the dagger, on what it looked like, and now that I think back, it had a blackish tint to it. I mutter, "But it wasn't the same."

He raises an eyebrow. He asks, "What do you mean?"

I reply, "I don't think it's the same substance. The curse was like a mist, and it was black. But the poison was black, but it was like liquid or something like that. Can you bring me the dagger? I think I know what it is."

He stands up, setting me back on the bed. He walks over to the desk and hands me the dagger. I stare at it for a moment.

I never really got a chance to look at it closely. The hilt is wrapped with a red fabric, and the guard is short, with gold patterns circling it. The blade... It's silver, I can tell, but it really does have poison on it. I look at it closely, and see it has a dark purple liquid on it, almost like juice. I sniff it just to make sure, and sure enough, the acrid smell confirms my suspicions. Dread fills me.

I say quietly, "It's deadly nightshade, or as it's called, Belladonna. Persona made me use it often for missions."

He asks, confused, "What's it do? Wasn't it like the curse?"

I reply, "No, it's not like the curse. The curse was different, like an Alice, but this is a plant. It's Belladonna. It has a delayed reaction, but it can still kill you. It can give you hallucinations, dizziness, nausea, "

Natsume says, "How long do you have?"

I respond softly, "Until midnight, at the least. I can try and Nullify it, but it can only hold for so long, and there's the curse to think about too."

He mutters, "Isn't there a cure?"

"There is, but there isn't enough time to make it. Luna probably has it though."

He looks at me, surprised. "Why would she have it?"

I scoff, "The ESP is manipulative. He won't just kill me unless there's another person with the same Alices I have."

Natsume smirks. "Shall we go get the cure, then?"

I grin back. "That we shall."

A voice interrupts our conversation. Tsubasa-senpai stands in the corner. I didn't even know he was there. "Sorry to intrude, but we really need your help right now. Sorry to ask this, but can you help out too?" Tsubasa-senpai pleads.

I'm about to reply, but Natsume cuts in. "She's poisoned. How can you-"

"I can hold back for a while. This is my fight, after all. I never asked you to get involved." Natsume and I glare at each other for a few minutes. "I'll hold it back with my Nullification, but it will only last for about a day, give or take. But that's enough, right?"

Tsubasa-senpai nods quickly, urging me to do so, but with regret in his eyes. I smile softly at him, and concentrate, using my Nullification to the best of my ability. What I didn't mention is that if I do this, I probably won't wake up for about a two weeks. Natsume senses something's wrong, and I speak, attempting to distract him. "Does anyone have a hair tie?"

They both glance at me, surprised. Natsume says, "Why would we have that, idiot?"

I mutter, "Worth a try."

I stand up, walking over to the desk. I snatch the tie sitting there, and quickly tie my hair up in a hastily made ponytail. I glare at them, saying, "We have to get going someday, right? Hurry up."

With that I walk out of the room, heading for the fight.

* * *

"It's noon, now. Are you going to give up, little lady? You seem tired," a man says, fighting me.

I grimace, kicking him in the stomach. He crumples to the ground, winded, and I knock him out shortly after. I mutter, "In your hellish dreams, old man."

I dash over to the next opponent, and we exchange a quick round of blows before he collapses to the found like the countless of others before him. I say to Hotaru, who's fighting next to me, with her Baka gun, "How many more?"

She says, "308 more to go."

I groan, punching a man in the face with frustration. He stumbles, losing his balance, and I elbow him in the head harshly, knocking him out also. I say, "How many were there in the first place?"

"581." is her succinct reply.

The next opponent is someone familiar. I scowl, recognizing him. Mouri Reo. "Hi there, Mikan-chan. Nice to meet you again!" he says cheerfully.

We rush towards each other, and I'm surprised at how much he's improved. Almost to Oji-san's standard. Mouri doesn't bother using his Alice, knowing it's ineffective. I punch him in the neck, and he blocks the next blow aimed towards his stomach. I scowl, and kick him in the shin. He kneels, and I smirk. Jumping on his shoulders, I flip over him, and land on his back. He goes down to the ground hard, and he manages to say, "Harsh, aren't we?"

I say, "You can only imagine." and knock him out with a quick blow to the neck.

* * *

The fight continues, and one by one, almost everybody falls to the ground from exhaustion, injuries, or overuse of their Alice. Including Shiki-san and Oji-san. But the good thing was, as we went down, we took the opposing with us.

Natsume and I are the last one standing by the time it's evening. We're both extremely exhausted, almost to the point of delirium, but we somehow manage to stand up and fight. There are only about ten or so enemies left, and they're quickly going down.

The last enemy is revealed... It is Luna.

-End of Chapter 28-

* * *

A/N: I honestly enjoy cliffhangers way too much. The epic showdown you've all been waiting for is next! Until the next chapter! Bye!

Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice doesn't belong to me at all. It belongs to Tachibana-san.


	29. Chapter 29: The Last

_*Recap*_

The last enemy is revealed... It is Luna.

* * *

**Chapter 29: The Last**

Luna struts towards us, her cold eyes searching. Her eyes find Natsume and I, and apparently this is not satisfactory. "I was hoping that you,"she says, pointing at me. "would be alone by the time I got here. Obviously an army of about 900+ Alices is not enough. Idiots."

I glare at her, and she glares rught back. I say, "So your army is a way of being fair, right?"

She scoffs, "Obviously."

That's when the fight starts. I rush towards her, without warning. Natsume starts attacking the same time I do. We dart around her, and I kick her in the stomach, but she steps back just in time. Right over Natsume's outstretched foot.

She stumbles, and Natsume uses his Fire Alice. A wall of fire erupts right where she landed, and she shrieks, flipping herself up. She scowls at the both of us, and I say, "Had enough?"

She glares at me, and retorts, "I think that applies to yourself too."

Natsume asks quietly, "So this was your aim all along?"

Luna bats her eyes at her, feigning innocence. Then she drops the act, and sneers, "Of course. It would be so much easier to kill you in a helpless state."

I rush towards her, and land a series of blows on her. She catches my arm, and uses it to throw me back into a tree. I'm winded, but a circle of fire erupts, preventing her from attacking. Before I can regain my breath, she extinguishes the fire, using a Water Alice stone. I say, still winded, "Prepared, aren't you?"

She smirks, and begins her counterattack. We continue, fighting for hours, until it's almost midnight.

She lands a lucky blow on Natsume, and he goes down, but not before he sends me a look of regret. Then he collapses.

I stand there for a moment, dumbfounded. Everybody's hurt or exhausted, and it's all my fault. A feeling of rage, helplessness, and regret fills up in me and erupts, all at once. I see fear in Luna's eyes for the first time that night.

I furiously attack her, and remember my lessons with Shiki-san. My purpose of fighting is to protect. A kick to the calf.

My purpose is to remove this curse. A punch to the back.

My purpose is to fight for the ones I love. A blow to the head.

She goes down, and I ask her, "Why are you doing this?"

She sends a death glare at me. She responds, "Why? Isn't obvious?"

I think about it, and realize for the first time her reasons she said at the clearing, it didn't make sense at all. I reply, "Actually, no, it isn't. You should know yourself that hate or jealousy alone shouldn't be good enough reason to kill someone. I don't believe you're a murderer, Luna, even though you cast this curse on me. I think someone convinced you to. Who?"

"The ESP. He was the only one who actually cared for me. Your mom... We were friends once, and she betrayed me. I never trusted anyone again, but the ESP got mine." she says softly, eyes burning with affection and hate.

I gape at her, looking at her childish body. Some kind of Alice, I conclude. I take a deep breath, wondering how I should say this. I finally say, "The ESP is manipulative. He has played with your feelings. Trust me. The ESP kills, and kills, blackmailing people. Do you honestly think that he would just... love someone with no reason at all? I think it's because you're easy to deceive, and that's not wholly a bad thing. You've been betrayed, and you've been hurt, and that makes you more desperate to believe in someone or something."

She screams, tears streaking her porcelain cheeks, "What do you know about this?! You haven't gone through what I've been through! Your despicable mother, she was one of them! She betrayed me!"

I swallow the feeling of anger, and reply gently, "My mom, she regretted what she did. She honestly loved you like a best friend. I remember what her words mean now." Luna looks up at me, confused.

I continue, "She said, 'Friendship is built on trust. If you cannot trust, you will get nowhere.' I think she was referring to you, Luna."

She glares at me, saying, "So you're just telling me that there was no trust in our friendship? Is that-"

I cut her off. "No, that's not what I'm implying. She trusted you, and she regretted what she made you do. Her biggest mistake, I think was... Trusting too much. Friendship is built on trust, she said. If the foundation is too strong, then what will happen to the other factors? She trusted you to make do without her, because she believed in you to do so. She probably thought it would be better if she went away from you, seeing as your reputation would get worse if you were friends with the girl with the Stealing Alice."

She stays still, shocked by what I told her. After a few minutes, she mutters, "I'll take your curse away. Right now, it's 11:48. You have twelve minutes to live, unless you want to die. Will you take it?"

This time, it's me who's shocked. I nod at her numbly, not fully comprehending the words. She hands a blue vial to me. She says, "Drink this. It's the cure to the poison. I'll work on your curse now."

I smile at her, and after a few seconds, she tentatively smiles back. That's when I know she's forgiven everything. I gag the nasty stuff down, and she puts a hand on my right wrist, where the flowers, the mark of the curse is branded. Slowly, little by little, the black ink goes away. The rose is the first to go. I sigh, knowing the death part of the curse is over. The marigold is next.

It's 11:57, now. Half of the marigold is gone, but I don't know exactly which part it is, the grief or the pain. Luna's concentrating hard, beads of sweat rolling down her face. I whisper to her, "Thank you."

She looks up, but soon goes back to her work. She says, "My way of apologizing. I can't give back what I've already taken, but I can at least give back what hasn't been taken."

I smile, and the marigold's almost gone. There's only a minute or so left. Just as the marigold's about to fade away, a surprise visitor comes.

I growl, resentment and loathing filling up in me. I was wrong. Luna wasn't the last enemy. Even if I've never met this person before, I know who he is. The slicked black hair, boyish body with a suit, and a cold, sneering smile on his face.

The ESP.

-End of Chapter 29-

* * *

A/N: I really enjoy doing this! I really love cliffhangers. Now I know why real authors love to write them. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this, and the next chapter's coming soon, dunno, in about a day, at the max? Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: I have NO rights to Gakuen Alice, but Tachibana-san has all of them.**


	30. Chapter 30: Day of Parting

_*Recap*_

I growl, resentment and loathing filling up in me. I was wrong. Luna wasn't the last enemy. Even if I've never met this person before, I know who he is. The slicked black hair, boyish body with a suit, and a cold, sneering smile on his face.

The ESP.

* * *

**Chapter 30: The Day of Parting**

He walks towards us, Luna with her hands still on my wrist, and me, prickling with rage and hate of what he's done to my life.

I only snap out of my anger-induced trance when Luna glances up at me, fear in her blue eyes. Once upon a time, I thought they were like steel. Now, they're more like snow, cold, distance, but soft enough to still melt. I whisper to her, "We're both going to get out of here, when I see the chance. I'm going to use the Teleportation Alice stone. Got it?"

She nods imperceptibly, and I smile softly at her. "It's going to be okay."

Then I look around and see my friends, all lying on the cold ground next to me. I realize now, the flaws in my plan. There's too many people, and I'm too exhausted. The best I can do in my state, is about ten people, at the maximum.

The ESP still strolls towards us leisurely, taking his own damn sweet time. I glare at him, but he doesn't seem to care or ignores it.

I think, trying to think our way out of this dilemma. Then I remember. I quickly rummage in my pocket for Tono's Alice stone, the Amplification. With this, I can take twenty. Natsume, Hotaru, Ruka-pyon, Youichi, Oji-san, Shiki-san, Nobara-chan, Nonoko and Anna, Permy, Koko, Tsubasa and Misaki-senpai, Subaru-san, Sakurano-san, Matsudaira, Amane, Tono, Persona, and Luna.

I smile faintly, knowing I'm not going with them. Hopefully, the Amplification stone can work on Teleportation stone. Through with my thoughts, I say coldly to the ESP, "What do you want?"

He smiles eerily. He replies, "Now, now. No need for such a tone. I've come to strike a bargain with you."

I raise an eyebrow, thinking about when the correct time is to send them all. "What bargain?"

He responds, "I won't harm your friends, but you will come with me."

I grimace. So this is the condition... "Why only me? I'm sure you would love to get hands on all these Alices." I say, trying to find his motive.

He says, "Of course, but for reasons I won't say, I need only you."

I frown. So he knew... "If I do go, and that's a big if, what will you give me in return?"

"Guarantee I won't harm your friends, in any shape or form, and they will forget their memories of you."

I hesitate, knowing it's a good idea. Then I realize, this is the chance. As I pretend to consider it, I think of the people I want to teleport, and one by one, they go away. The ESP notices, and smirks, saying, "I know you won't have enough strength to resist me anyway, so you're leaving your friends out of it. Is that correct?"

I smile sinisterly, and reply, "Well, of course. We will have to talk about the terms soon."

Just as the words leave me, Natsume wakes up. I curse. He didn't hear, right? I send Luna away, and he's the last one left. I smile at him gently, and his eyes widen, realizing something's wrong. I send him away too, and he tries to speak, but he's already gone. Exhaustion takes over me, and it's all I can do to not collapse. I still have to talk with the ESP. The ESP flicks his hand, moving all the AAO people to another place.

"If I agree, will you give me time to say good-bye?" I ask, hoping for a miracle.

He says, "How long to you want?"

I reply, "Half a year."

"Two days."

"Three months."

"One week."

"One month."

"Two weeks."

"Four."

"Three weeks," we both say at the same time. I smirk, feeling triumphant at reaching my goal. He scowls, and waves his hand in dismissal.

He says, walking out, "Three weeks, and I know you have the Memory-Erasing Alice stone. You can do it yourself, won't you? It's for their own good."

His words ring in my head, and I know they have some sense of truth in them.

The ground rises up to meet me, and I fall to the ground, too exhausted to even sit up anymore. My eyes slowly start to close, and just before I go unconscious, a snowflake drifts down to the frozen ground. I smile, and I think, _'Eventful birthday, wasn't it.'_

Then I fall asleep.

* * *

**Natsume's POV**

She teleported us away. Damn her. I heard the words, and she was talking about some kind of deal with an unfamiliar man. What and who was it?!

I run out of the Academy, ignoring my exhaustion, to the Northern Woods. As I near the it, a snowflake falls slowly to the ground. I pause, and more snowflakes drift down soundlessly. I tear through the forest, and the snow muffles any sound I make. I finally burst through the thick snow and woods, and Mikan is lying in the center of the clearing, unconscious, I can see from here, snow surrounding her.

I walk over to her, and the metaphor I used a long time ago, referring to her as the light of my life, literally makes sense now. The moon's shining, making the snows' bright glare a little bit more dull. It's everywhere, on her face, on her hair, and honestly, it makes her look so beautiful. I pick her up in my arms, and only now do I realize she's sleeping. I smirk, and mutter, "Sleepyhead. Wake up soon, won't you?"

Then I stride out of the clearing.

* * *

I pace around the room, impatient. The look she had when she talked about the Nullification holding back the poison... the smile she gave me before she teleported me away... even the flimsy attempt at distraction all makes sense to me now. I growl, half out of my mind. She obviously knew this was gonna happen, and yet she was stupid enough to actually do something like that. She's been sleeping. This whole time. Today would make the second week she's been asleep.

I would've understood if she slept a little bit less. I mean, we all slept for about three days after the fight. We were that exhausted. She was as tired as we were, and maybe even more. She did have to hold back the curse and the poison, but I didn't expect her 'nap', as Shadow calls it, to be this long.

She shuffles in her sleep, and I walk over to her, wondering what she's dreaming about. I push her hair out of her face, and she shuffles some more at the contact. She opens her hazel eyes, and I sigh in relief, then glare at her in anger. I yell, "Do you honestly know how long you were sleeping?! Damn it, you could've at least told us you were going to be sleeping for t-"

She cuts me off, saying, "Two weeks, I know. But then, you wouldn't have let me go out and fight, would you?"

She yawns widely, and I mutter, "At least cover your mouth, annoying girl. Two weeks is an ridiculous amount of time to sleep, you know? The rest of us only slept for about-"

She interrupts me again. "Three days, right?"

I glance at her, a scowl forming on my face. "So you were awake?"

She replies easily, "My mind was awake, but my body was not."

I glare at her. "Exactly what is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. I could hear, smell, taste, feel, etc, etc, but my eyes refused to open because my body, physically, was exhausted. My mind however, recovered faster, so I was technically literally asleep for four days, a little bit more than you guys, but I think I have a right to say that I was using my Alice more than you were."

I say, "And you knew you were going to be asleep for two weeks how?"

"Oh, stop with the interrogation, will you? I'm awake, and that's all that matters..." she trails off, making me look curiously at her.

She gets off the bed, stretching leisurely. I say, "What are you going to do now?"

"First, can you get me my uniform?" Seeing my scowl, she purses her lips. "Please?"

I sigh, knowing it's probably the only time she's ever going to utter that word. I get her her uniform, along with a hat, and she goes to the bathroom to change. A few minutes later, she returns and barks, "We are going to go out to Central. Any questions?"

I raise an eyebrow at her. Not like her to skip classes without a good reason. I ask her wryly, "What's the condition?"

She flutters her eyes innocently. "Condition? I have no idea what you're talking about."

Turns out, there was no catch. She went around, buying things as she pleased, and got about twenty boxes of Howalon along the way. I smirked and teased her, calling her a pig, and she would indignantly reply that no, she was not a pig, but rather was eating healthy, compared to me, who ate nothing at all, and gave no signs to indicate that I wanted to anytime soon.

Finally, we rested under a tree, her tired from buying, and me tired from her... over-enthusiastic personality. I say, "What now?"

She takes off her hat, and sets it neatly on the ground. She slumps over, and replies, "Dunno. I just don't want to go to Jinno's math class."

I smirk, knowing she really hated his class. A few years ago, when she was still stupid and perky, she would get a failing grade for his class, and in return, Jinno, a cranky, glasses-wearing, old teacher obsessed with frogs, would electrocute her with his Electricity Alice.

She rests her head in my lap, and I snicker, "Bold, aren't we?"

She sighs, wistfulness in her voice,"If only we could stay like this forever."

What did she mean by that?

* * *

**Mikan's POV**

It's the last day I have to say good-bye. Two weeks wasted of sleep, knowing that, I asked for three weeks of the ESP. A week left, I tried to spend it as eventfully as I could. The last day came, just as I knew it would, but I really wished that it would slow down, or time would stop, or even, if a miraculous miracle happened, the ESP would call off the deal on this last day. Sadly, none of that happened.

The class we had with Narumi-sensei... was interesting. Even though we already learned it, even though it wasn't Valentine's Day yet, Narumi-sensei gave us a review on Alice stones. This year, we were a little more successful than last year, but this time was different for me. Instead of stealing my own Alice, I decided to really try and make one. I managed to, one about the size of a small-racquet ball, but Natsume's was like a big golf-ball. Mine was orange, yet again, but Natsume's was so... beautiful. It was an alluring shade of crimson, just like his eyes, and when you looked at it, it seemed deeper than it actually was. You couldn't help but be entranced by it.

For the early Valentine's Day activity, Narumi-sensei turned off the lights, and whoever you grabbed, you could keep their Alice stone, including the teachers'. Honestly, Hotaru had stars in her eyes, waiting to make more money, no doubt. But the only one I wanted to catch, it was Natsume's. Unfortunately, I couldn't find his, but on the bright side, nobody else could either. And that was the end of the game.

I decided to spend rest of my time with everybody, and we all threw a small party, more like a get-together, celebrating a week of my return from sleep, and the three week anniversary of the curse being removed.

But it wasn't wholly gone. The day I woke up, I knew the curse was still there. I had woken up early, but Natsume was there. So I feigned sleep, and moved, looking to confirm the curse was there. And it was. Clear as day, a marigold petal still lay delicately on my wrist. I hid it carefully, knowing everybody was rejoicing about the curse being gone.

I had confronted Luna, who was still sleeping, but I could communicate with her telepathically, and told her when she woke, not to tell anyone about the remainder of the curse. She couldn't remove it, being asleep and all, but she agreed. I took it as a precaution, just in case she woke in the last day.

So right now, at 10 in the evening, we're at this small party(get-together) in Natsume's room(as mine was too cluttered with things), desserts and punch wandering around the room. We took pictures, as I insisted, and as we all gathered for one last photo, taken from an Alice made camera(that can record sounds), and it was... sad, to say the least, but I was happy too, knowing I could keep the picture, and remember them.

Everybody leaves, one by one, and I erase their memories of me as they leave. Even those that weren't in the party, even those who don't know me very well. Soon, Natsume and I are the only ones in the room. I continue cleaning up, while Natsume lies on the bed, obviously bored. I mutter, "Help me out here, won't you?"

He smirks, and says, "Too tiring."

I roll my eyes, and I say, picking up the last bit of trash, "Whatever. I'm done anyway."

I throw the trash bag out the chute, and walk out to the large balcony, and stare at the twinkling stars, admiring them. I can see my breath frosting the cold air, and I laugh. I hear, "Why are you laughing?"

I reply, "Maybe because I'm still alive?"

He turns serious. "But you also have a reason to be sad too, right?"

I glance at him, alarmed, but I try to hide it. I say, "What do you mean?"

He catches my right wrist, holding on the rails, and he holds it up, saying, "The curse is still there, right? Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice?"

My jaw drops, dumbfounded. When did he... His voice interrupts my thoughts. "You can't hide anything from me."

I say, trying to distract him, "Can we exchange Alice stones?"

He tilts his head, confused. I say, "Well, I heard this legend that if you exchange Alice stones, you're destined to be with that person forever."

He says, smirking, "So you want to be with me forever?"

I say, "Wouldn't you?"

He replies, "Oh, maybe. But I would have to put up with your endless talking."

I say nothing. He walks over to his desk and opens a secret compartment from under it. He takes out the blood-red stone and hands it to me. I exchange mine with his, and I click the stones together playfully. He rolls his eyes, and says, "Satisfied?"

I say happily, "Now we'll be together forever."

He rolls his eyes again, and when I think he's not looking, I admire the stone. I mutter quietly, "If only I could be that lucky."

Natsume walks over to his desk and takes out a chain. He takes the red Alice stone and puts it on the chain. I hold my hair up, and he places it over my neck. He does the same to the orange Alice stone, but he puts it back into his compartment. I say, a little disappointed, "You're probably never gonna use it, right? No need for a Nullification Alice."

he smirks and tilts my chin up, forcing me to look into his eyes. I mutter, "Arrogant bastard."

He replies, "I'm just saving it. Maybe there's no need for it now, but later, maybe I'll need it. Now that you're done distracting me... Oh yeah, I was saying you couldn't hide anything from me, right?"

My eyes widen. So he knew all along. I think, _'But I am right now. Only this secret, and this secret only, will stay mine.'_

I rise up on my toes and kiss him softly, and after a surprised few seconds, he wraps an arm around my waist and kisses back. Butterflies are flying around in my stomach, as usual, but it's different this time. I know it's the last kiss I'll ever get from him. I kiss him more urgently, pulling him closer to me, entangling my hands in his messy black hair. I pull back sometime afterwards, and both of us are breathing heavily. He asks, raising his eyebrows,"What was that for?"

I kiss him gently on the cheek, and wrap my arms around him. I whisper in his ear, "It was nothing."

He tentatively hugs me back, and replies, "That was obviously nothing. What's wrong with you today?"

"Nothing!" I insist. "Just... I don't want to be away from you, I guess."

"You guess?" he smirks at me.

I roll my eyes, and say, "I feel like I'm going to get nightmares, okay? I just want to stay here, nothing really bad about it."

He replies, feigning seriousness, "I have no idea what's wrong with you today, and since I don't want you to be like this tomorrow" the word tomorrow sends a pang of hurt through me. "I guess I'll let you stay."

I mutter darkly, "If you dare do anything perverted tonight, I swear I'm going to murder you."

He chuckles and says, "We're just going to sleep next to each other. Happy?"

I spin on my heels, not saying another word.

The night is peaceful. I really don't want it to end. But all good things have to end sometime, right? I untangle myself from Natsume carefully, cautious as to not wake him up, and kiss him on the temple. I hover a hand over his forehead, and erase his memories of me, oldest to newest. Throughout the process, Natsume wakes up. I freeze, not knowing what to do. He says, "Mikan?"

I whisper, "Never forget this. I love you."

He says it back to me, "I love you too. But why...?"

Tears fall on his face, and I'm surprised to find that they're my own. I say, "Can you say it one more time? Please?"

His eyebrows furrow, confused by my request. But he says, "I love you."

I smile gently at him, and finish erasing his memories. He falls back to the bed, asleep. I say, "I love you, too. I love you."

With that, I flee into the night.

-End of Chapter 30-

* * *

A/N: That was really long. Like, really long. I think it was the longest I've ever written. Anyway, the end to this story is coming soon, sadly. I'm trying to think of new ideas, but I'm at a loss. Anyway, hope you liked it, review, favorite, follow, etc, etc. 30 chapters, 3,000+ views, and 17 reviews? Really? Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice, and Tachibana-san does. **


	31. Chapter 31: Alice Stones

_*Recap*_

I smile gently at him, and finish erasing his memories. He falls back to the bed, asleep. I say, "I love you, too. I love you."

Then I flee into the night.

* * *

**Chapter 31: Alice Stones**

**Natsume's POV**

Something's really off. I don't know what, who, where, when, why, or how that is, but it really is off. What's infuriating, though, is that I can't remember what's making me feel like this. Also the fact when I woke up the morning when that feeling started, there were tears on my face. Obviously not mine, but they were half-dried. I don't know whose it was.

Then came the dreams. The dreams of this girl, always the same girl, I can tell, but sometimes she would be older, sometimes she would be younger. I don't know her age, her eye color, height, Alice, or even her name.

At first, the dreams started out like images. Flitting images that made no sense to me whatsoever. Then the images got longer, focusing on one image at a time, or occasionally, it was like a video.

I still couldn't see her face. Though her voice would come out more often, I didn't know who she was, and what was worse was that I felt like she was really important to me. And it was driving me mad. The first time I had heard her voice, it was two weeks after the dreams started. After I heard her voice, I felt like a whole part was missing from my life. It sounds really cheesy, but that was what it felt like. Before that morning with the tears, I couldn't describe what my life was like. It was that bad.

I do know somebody who also feels like this too. Believe it or not, it's Imai. She cornered me one day, when I was all alone, and had no witnesses. She asked quietly, "You feel like that too?"

Cautious as to what she was asking, I replied, "What do you mean?"

She scoffed, "Those dreams, don't lie and tell me you don't have them."

I raised an eyebrow, and said, "So you have them too?"

"Dreams about a girl with brown hair? A girl I don't know but feel like I should? Those ones? Yeah, I do."

I couldn't find anything to say. Anything Imai and I had in common, it was a big deal. We hated each others guts, didn't show many expressions, and didn't care for others easily, but that was about all the similarities we shared. So what were these dreams?

* * *

**Mikan's POV**

Valentine's Day, huh?

I sigh, standing on the balcony, thinking about everybody back at the Academy. I held up the picture in my hands, the one taken at the party. I sigh again, wishing I could be there with them.

I think I know what type of curse the flower petal is... If I add the facts of the ESP, making everyone lose their memories, and not being able to see them, then the petal is most likely the grief.

I sigh again, and the ESP's voice rings out behind me. "How many times are you going to sigh?"

I ask dryly, "Why do you care?"

He replies, "I was going to give you a chance to leave, but guess not..."

I'm instantly on alert. "A chance to leave?"

He says, "Yeah, I was going to send you out to get some things, but guess not."

My hope is trampled on, but it revives with half its normal strength. I say, "So, what do you want me to do for me to go out?"

"Isn't that obvious? Beg for it."

"..."

"Now, now, if you really don't want to go out, then that's fine with me."

"... Please."

He smirks, and says, "That's better. Get whatever you want, because obviously those clothes are going to wear out soon. I'm giving you $100, and you have four hours, because I'm told girls take a longer time shopping than boys."

I smile brightly, and say, "Thank you."

With that, I rush out of the room.

* * *

**Natsume's POV**

Today's Valentine's Day. It should have no meaning for me, but for somehow, it does. I have a feeling it's connected to that girl.

The dream today... It really bothered me. The girl said, "I love you."

But why?

I walk over to the desk, searching for something. I don't know why that is, but I am. My hands find a compartment I somehow forgot about, and I open it, and it reveals an orange Alice stone with a chain.

I hold it in my hands, and inspect it. _'Whose Alice stone is this...?' _I think. Nobody has dared giving me their Alice stone, and even if I did, I wouldn't keep it.

I look in it, and faintly, in the center, there seems to be a sparkle. Then a rush of memories come back to me. Mikan, Mikan, Mikan.

I growl, furious with myself for forgetting her, and with Mikan because she was the one who made me forget, no doubt.

I run out of the room, holding the stone in my hands. I pound on Imai's door, and she opens it, revealing a camera in her hands and a bored expression plastered on her face. She snaps, "What?"

In answer, I hold up the Alice stone. She seems to be confused, then realization dawns on her. She reacts the same way I do, bristling with anger. I smirk, saying, "Mad?"

She nods, and asks, "Where'd that idiot go?"

I reply, "Obviously she wouldn't have left without a good reason. She's not in this academy anymore, but probably somewhere else."

"Let's ask the teachers, if we can go out." Imai says, indicating that I should bring the stone.

We run to the staff room, holding the stone for everyone to see. Everyone doesn't seem to recognize the stone, as we did, but soon know whose it is. Some face palm themselves, some groan, some laugh at their stupidity.

Apparently, Mikan didn't realize when she gave me this stone, it would nullify the effects of the Memory-Erasing Alice. How the Memory-Erasing Alice can erase a person's existence from their memories, I have no idea. But she seemed to have managed it.

We arrive at the staff room, and burst in. We walk over to the teachers, and show them the Alice stone. As expected, they acted the same way everybody else did, but they know whose stone it is within time. I ask, "Give us permission to search for her. She's not here, I know that much."

"What makes you so sure you'll find her?" Jinno asks.

My face expressionless, "She has my Alice stone. Don't you know what that means?"

They look confused, so I prompt them. "If a person is strong, they can track down where their own stone is. Remember?"

They consult, debating if we should go or shouldn't. A few minutes later, Narumi smiles and says, "Go."

With that, we run out of the room.

-End of Chapter 31-

* * *

A/N: Whoa... I honestly never thought this story would be 31 chapters, and more. Longer than I expected it to be. Speaking of expectations, expect a new story soon! I don't think this one will have Alices in them, unless I change my mind. Anyway, sorry for the wait, and review! I got two reviews for the last chapter, really happy. Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: Tachibana-san owns Gakuen Alice. I do not have rights to it, in any shape or form.**


	32. Chapter 32: Hope

_*Recap*_

They consult, debating if we should go or shouldn't. A few minutes later, Narumi smiles and says, "Go."

With that, we run out of the room.

* * *

**Chapter 32: Hope**

We step out of the room. I stop, concentrating as to where my stone may be. A weak feeling directs my feet, and Imai follows. We run, and run, and run.

We finally get to Tokyo, and I run, not caring where I'm going. My only thoughts are dominated by her. I haven't seen her for three weeks straight.

We finally end up in a small shopping district, and the feeling grows stronger with every step I take. We run, and stop for a second, panting. The feeling's so strong now, I can't pinpoint exactly where she is.

We dash around, swerving around crowds, trying to catch sight of an auburn-haired girl.

Finally, I catch sight of the only person in this damn district that can be her. I yell, "Mikan!"

* * *

**Mikan's POV**

"Mikan!"

I look in my peripheral vision to see if my bodyguards have noticed. They haven't, luckily, and I tell one of them

I need to go to the bathroom. He nods, knowing I have a tracker on me. I get lost in the crowd, trying to identify the source of the voice, hoping it's him and at the same time, not him. But who else can it be?

I find him, as I thought I would, and surprisingly, Hotaru's also there. I bite my lip, thinking. I know if I get away, he'll try and find me again, but if he does, the situation might not be as favorable. Feeling as if I'll regret this decision, I concentrate, using the last bit of the Telepathy Alice I have to tell him to meet me near the bathrooms, alone.

He looks around, trying to find me, but says something to Hotaru and slips away. I do too, and within a minute, I'm standing near the bathrooms, waiting for him.

He finally arrives, and my heart swells at the sight of him. A little taller, he still looks the same, wearing a thin jacket over his uniform. I scowl, and march over to him. I say, "Is that all you're wearing?"

He looks surprised at first, then amused. He says, "Three weeks later, on Valentine's Day nonetheless, and that's all you have to say to me?"

I roll my eyes. I say, "I'm regretting this decision, and don't get me started on how thin that jacket is. You're probably freezing."

I take off my red scarf(made by yours truly) and wrap it around his neck. He raises an eyebrow, and I growl, "If you dare take off that scarf, I swear I will murder you here and now."

He smirks, and he retorts, "I should be the one who should be mad. First, you take my memories, then you take off without any explanation whatsoever, leave me with an infuriating feeling I'm forgetting something important for three weeks, make me search for you for about two hours, and now, you snap at me on Valentine's Day for not wearing something thicker."

I sigh, "And that's a problem because?"

He snickers, "Why do I feel like we switched personalities?"

I smile at him, and wrap my arms around his waist. I kiss him lightly on the lips, and mutter, "Believe it or not, I actually did miss you."

He pulls me closer to him, and asks, "Who? Where? Why?"

I ignore his question and attempt to distract him. I say, "How did you find me? Or, rather, how did you break the Memory-Erasing Alice?"

He smirks, and takes out the red Alice stone from around my neck. He holds it in his hand, and says, "Did you honestly not know about this?"

I say, "What?"

He replies, "If a person is strong, meaning like strong Alice, big Alice stone, etc, etc, then they can track down their own Alice stone. Unfortunately, it didn't work until I broke the Memory-Erasing Alice. I solved that problem by using your Alice stone."

I furrow my eyebrows, and he snickers, "Nullification, remember?"

Only now do I realize that giving him a Nullification Alice stone, when he could potentially nullify other Alices with it, was not the best idea. I growl, "But you couldn't use it unless you knew you had that Alice stone. How'd you break that?"

He rolls his eyes, saying, "I've known you for a long time. Don't think you can just erase yourself from my memories so easily. It took three weeks, but at least I'm here. Now, where were you, why did you go, what was the deal, and who did you make the deal with?"

I scowl, my attempt at diversion having been foiled. I say, "I'm not telling."

He smirks and says, "And I'm not going to let you go until you tell me. So we're at a stalemate. But, I'm guessing the ESP?"

I glare at him, and he sends the glare right back. I mutter, "It was him."

Apparently, three words, just three, were enough to explain the whole messy situation that I was now involved with. He growls, "The ESP blackmailed you into going with him, right?"

I sigh, but that's more than sufficient confirmation for him. I say, "I'm not telling you where he is."

He snarls, "Why?! That bastard trapped you in wherever, cutting off any contact with anybody you've ever known, and you still protect him?"

I snap, "Hey, I never said I was protecting him. He's got more than enough control devices on me," I show him my rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and barrettes. "And, the deal was that if I left, he would leave you guys alone. Problem?"

He says flatly, "There is."

I roll my eyes, and mutter, "If there is, I don't see it."

My watch beeps, signaling my five minutes in the bathrooms is over. I say, "I have to go. Don't think I'm not doing anything, because I will, starting right now."

He holds me even tighter, and warns, "Don't do anything unnecessary. We will find you, and save you. I promise."

I smile at him, and his expression softens. I kiss him, and he responds, but I pull back. I say, "I know you will."

I take a step away from him, and I say, "Keep the scarf. I made it for this day, so don't say I didn't get anything for you. The fact still remains you didn't get anything for me-"

His lips brushes against mine gently, preventing me from saying anything. I weaved my hands into his raven-black hair, and he pulls back, smirking. "There's your present."

I roll my eyes, and say, "Next year, you'll get me something better."

He retorts, "Don't pretend like you didn't enjoy it."

In answer, I wave my hand in dismissal, and kiss him on the cheek one last time before I teleport away.

-End of Chapter 32-

* * *

A/N: Jeez, it's late. Here's your chapter, and about the new story, it's going to be up once this story is done. Which is coming very soon. The end, I mean. Anyway, review, favorite, follow, etc, etc. I'm getting more reviews! Well, not really. I'm just getting a larger variety of people to review. But yeah, hope you enjoyed it. Also, I need a title for the new story! PM me for details, and yeah. Until the next chapter! Bye!

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gakuen Alice, and Tachibana-san DOES.**


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